Harry Potter and the Meteor Crisis
by Cor Strike FX
Summary: First in the series. HPxFF crossover. Harry's in for an adventure greater than the Horcrux Hunt when Ron brings home a Playstation 2 he had found in a London alleyway. Rated T for moderate language.
1. Why Technology and Magic DON'T Mix

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or Final Fantasy. (Well, I own books 1 through 7, and copies of Final Fantasy VIII through X-2, Chronicles, and Anthology.)

Sirius: Try again, Cor.

Fine. I don't own the rights to HP or FF. Period. So don't bother suing me or anything (not that you'd get very much). Happy now, Sirius?

Sirius: Yup. Say, have you seen Harry? I thought he was supposed to be in on this whole 'muse' deal.

I don't think he's here yet. Last I talked to him, he was busy with some other author.

Sirius: Oh.

* * *

"Hey Harry, mate. You know a lot about Muggle stuff, right?" Ron asked, carrying an oblong rectangular, black object in his hands. 

"More than Wizard-born, anyway," Harry quipped. "Why didn't you ask Hermione? She knows more about everything than I do - except for Quidditch."

"You're a lot closer, Harry," Ron countered. "Anyway..." He held up the device. "Do you know what this is?"

Harry grinned, almost smirking. "You're not very perceptive, are you, Ron?" He ran a finger across the engraved lettering across the top, spelling out the word 'Playstation 2.'

"I saw that," Ron snipped indignantly, "so I know what it's called. What I want to know is, what is it?"

Harry's humor stood fast. "It's a Playstation, Ron."

"What does it do?"

"It's a computer system. You can play games on it or listen to music." Harry caught the look on Ron's face. "Muggle music, Ron. Some of which is actually pretty good."

"What kind of games does this thing play, Harry? Or should I go find Hermione and ask her?"

"It'll play games that were made for it, Ron. And that takes some special tools that I'm sure even your dad hasn't come across."

"Well, I found some weird looking cases next to it," Ron remarked, disappearing for a minute and then reappearing with five glass cases stacked securely in his hands. "What do you make of these? They all say 'Playstation,' but only the bottom two say 'Playstation 2.'"

Harry took the cases from Ron and looked at them. The first had a picture of a guy in a sleeveless, purple suit, sporting spiky blonde hair and a humongous sword on his back, looking up (defiantly?) at an oddly-shaped tower in the distance. The name 'Final Fantasy VII' was written (or typed?) across the top, and Harry could make out a blue meteor in the background of the picture.

The second case had three people on it, two guys and a girl. The guy on the left (looking left) had a cold, emotionless expression on his face, topped with straight brown hair that didn't cover his face. Harry could see the beginning of a scar on his cheek, one that ran across the bridge of his nose and between his eyes.

The other guy, looking to the right, had short blonde hair, and wore a self-satisfied smirk reminiscent of Draco Malfoy (the hairstyle wasn't too far off that mark, either, though the color was different). He had a scar similar to the first guy, but running in the opposite direction.

The girl in between them was facing toward the picture. She had long, straight black hair that fell down to her shoulders (when it wasn't being blown by the wind, like it was in the picture). Her warm brown eyes were full of expression, and she had a small smile on her face. Above all three people were the words 'Final Fantasy VIII.' In the background behind the words, a woman with a headdress had her arms spread wide, looking like she was casting some powerful spell.

The third game (as Harry figured they must be) was called 'Final Fantasy IX.' There was a short blonde-haired kid with what looked like a dagger on his hip and a monkey's tail and blue eyes full of mischief; a black-haired girl with her hands clasped, looking as though she was praying; a stern, but comical-looking knight in full metal armor, and a broadsword strapped to his back; a short kid whose large, floppy and patched wizard's hat completely obscured his face in darkness, except for his yellow eyes that were filled with some indescribable sorrow; and a tall, slim man with dark hair that flowed back, as though the braids in it were locked into that position with some spell or another.

The fourth game, titled 'Final Fantasy X,' depicted a blonde guy standing waist deep in crystal clear blue water, with a tropical island in the background. In his gloved hand, he held a blue sword, the blade appearing to be comprised of some crystal material that shimmered and gave the illusionary appearance of being water.

The final game ('Final Fantasy X-2') showed a close-up picture of the faces of three girls; the first one, in the upper left corner, was blonde with green eyes and a blue bandana. The one article of clothing seeable was a tiny yellow bikini top (Harry successfully kept from blushing). The second girl, in the center stripe that stretched from the lower-left corner to the top-right, was a brunette with one green eye and one blue one. She was donning a pink hood (down) and a kept her hair short, save for a tail that trailed back down towards the un-portrayed ground. In the bottom right corner, a woman with red eyes, grey spiked up hair, and a cold expression of determination. Harry could see a pair of red suspenders over her shoulders and a black choker on her neck.

"Well?" Ron prompted, impatient (which he was about everything, except perhaps chess).

"These are games, Ron. They must be," Harry replied. He looked up and noticed the excited expression on his face. "I suppose you want to play them?"

"Yeah! How do I turn it on?"

Harry could almost laugh at the child-like enthusiasm on his friend's face. "Did you find anything else with these?" Ron shook his head 'no.' "In that case, we'll have to go out and buy a few things. A power cord, and a controller, definitely. Probably an RF switch, too." Harry looked thoughtful. "I was wanting to get a TV, anyway. This is a good excuse to get one."

Ron looked dismayed. "We need all that just to play it?"

"Yeah. Well, I suppose, technically, you could play it without a TV, but you wouldn't be able to see what you're doing or hear anything. You'd be playing blind and deaf," Harry explained. He was getting excited, too - after all, he had never played Dudley's Playstation.

* * *

The next afternoon, Harry and Hermione had finished setting up the television in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place. Ron came in, carrying the Playstation 2 with a satisfied look on his face. "What's with you, Ron?" Harry asked. 

"I used Hermione's big spell book (sorry Hermione) and charmed this Playstation to not need electricity and not overheat," he explained. "I also Transfigured the games into one shiny disc instead of thirteen."

"Ron! You know magic and technology don't mix well!" Hermione nearly screeched. Harry rubbed his ear for a second, frowning.

"Yeah, that's why I borrowed your bloody big book (I don't how you carried it around without a feather-weight charm on it all these years, it's bloody heavy!) instead of using the regular spells," Ron said.

"To be honest, I'm impressed he didn't blow the place up or something trying to cast the charms," Harry quipped, making Hermione snicker and Ron glare at him.

"Oi!" Ron set the device down on the floor in front of the TV (carefully enchanted by Hermione and Professor Flitwick to not need electricity either) and plugged in the peripherals. He magicked the disc tray open (much to Hermione's consternation) and inserted a disc that, instead of the graphics such CD's usually sported, only contained the titles of the five games circling along the outer edge.

Ron was reaching for the ON switch in the back. "Ron, you really shouldn't-" Hermione began, but Ron grinned confidently at her and flicked the switch.

The screen on the TV went black, but other than that, nothing happened. For several minutes, the trio stood there with their breaths held.

Ron frowned, disappointed. "Hmph! Stupid Muggle machine!" He made to bang on it with his fist, but then the screen changed again before his hand came near it. This time, it was showing a jumbled mess of the titles of the games.

"That's weird. Hermione, do you know what it's doing?" Ron asked.

"Ron! How could I know what it's doing!? You're the one who enchanted it!" This time, Hermione really did screech.

"Ow!" Ron rubbed his ears. He turned to Harry. "What do you think, Harry?"

But Harry wasn't there. All that was left on the floor where he'd been sitting was his wand.

Although she was nearly frantic with Harry's disappearance, Hermione couldn't resist taking a shot at Ron (it was his fault, after all). "I told you magic and technology doesn't mix!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ron shot back, feeling outraged that she blamed him (had Ron still been thinking rationally, he would be blaming himself, too). "You always have to be right, don-HARRY!"

Hermione spun around when Ron cried out, but all she saw was the TV. On the screen, looking dazed and confused while sitting in a smoky train car, was a person with familiar, messy black hair.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure how or why, but he suddenly saw a bunch of stars in a night sky. His gaze slowly dropped down, the stars turning into floating embers of green fire, and a girl with a pretty face stood up and walked away. His vision then zoomed itself out looking over a sprawling, circular city, then zoomed in on a speeding train. At this time, the words 'Final Fantasy VII,' scrolled onto his vision, flashing once when a blue-green sphere snagged itself between 'Final' and 'Fantasy.' 

Somehow, inexplicably and without a doubt, Harry was inside the video game.

* * *

Sirius: Oi! Harry! You made it! 

Harry: Just barely. That last author was a fangirl - utterly obsessed with writing about Malfoy Jr. and me shudders in utmost disgust

shudders too I'm not saying slash in and of itself is a bad thing...I just don't care for it. I'll take guy-on-girl any day.

Sirius: nods in agreement Amen to that, mate.


	2. The Mr T WannaBe

Disclaimer: If you're reading this, then you've got time to go back to chapter one and read the disclaimer there; I'm too lazy to type the thing over and over again, chapter after chapter.

Sirius: At least you admit to being lazy.

Meh. Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.

Sirius quirks an eyebrow

What? I got that off of one of my t-shirts. I like it.

Sirius: I find that it suits you absolutely.

Hey!

Harry: Can't we get on with the story? I feel naked without my wand, you know.

Sirius: opens mouth

Thank you, Sirius.

Sirius: closes mouth

By the way, Harry, you've still got Gryffindor's Sword.

Harry: Oh yeah. I'd forgotten I had it on me when Ron turned that Playstation on.

Sirius: What's a Playstation?

Maybe when you're older.

* * *

A voice came on over the intercom, saying, "Last train out of Sector 8 Station. Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23 AM, Midgar standard time..."

Harry blinked, his vision clearing, and found himself sitting in a seat on a grungy train car as it hurdled down its tracks. Unlike the Hogwarts Express, there weren't any compartments; rather, just a bunch of seats along the wall, and gripping bars running along the ceiling (though within easy reach of anyone standing). He jumped slightly, reaching for his wand, when several people suddenly burst in through the door in the back, one after another.

The first person to come through was a large bear of a man, with dark skin, a shaggy beard, and a crew cut. He was clad in green trouser shorts and a stained leather vest, which was open, revealing a very muscular torso. Two metal bands served as belts, and on his arm, where his right hand should have been, was what looked a lot like what Harry thought to be a machine gun.

The second person was more normal-sized; he was a bit pudgy, wearing dark blue denim jeans, a yellow-white t-shirt, and a red bandana. He carried a small gun (Harry thought it might be a pistol) in a holster that hung over his hip off a shoulder strap. He immediately reminded Harry of Neville.

The next passenger to come in was a bit taller, and definitely thinner than the pudgy one. He wore dark brown combat boots, equally brown slacks, and a green sleeveless shirt. He also had a bandana, though his tended to blend into his brown hair. A rifle of some kind was slung across his back.

The fourth person was a girl, light brown hair and goggles on her forehead. She also carried what looked like a pistol, but looking down, Harry noticed a knife handle sticking out of her right boot. She was wearing non-descript clothing of bland colors, and though her bandana was brown, it stood out more than the last guy's headpiece.

The final person to come through was a guy wearing a purple bodysuit, with a heavy shoulder pad on his right shoulder. A massive sword was secured to his back. It was the sword, and the spiky blond hair, that told Harry who this guy was, even if he didn't know his name.

It was the guy on the front cover of the game's case. And, Harry admitted to himself, he looked more formidable in person, as opposed to being in a picture and looking somewhat comical.

A well-dressed, official looking man stood up, catching Harry's eye. He slipped toward the other door, toward the front of the train. "Hoo, boy," Harry heard him whisper, "hooligans. This is why I hate the last train." With that, he opened the door and stepped through, shutting it firmly (if a little shakily) behind him.

Harry decided to play quiet and listen to the conversations around him in order to figure out what was going on. He didn't hear much of anything interesting until he heard someone next to him say, "You see the headlines in the Shinra Times?" Harry started when he realized the guy was talking to _him._

"No, I only just woke up myself." _Well,_ Harry thought, _it's kinda the truth._

"Oh, well, then you haven't heard. Anyway, the terrorists that blew up the No. 1 Reactor are rumored to be based somewhere in the slums," the man whispered to him, as though he was telling Harry about some conspiracy or another. "Man, blowing up a reactor? They sure put some thought into this one."

The words flew out of Harry's mouth before he could stop to think about them. "They must have a real calculating leader, to pull something like that off." The man nodded in agreed vigorously.

Harry suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. He slowly turned his head in a calm manner, his eyes landing on the large black man with the gun-thing on his arm. The man's eyes stared at him in a scrutinizing manner for a minute, before turning away to bellow at the blond guy in purple.

"Hey! Stop actin' like a damn kid. Si'down an' shu'up!"

The blonde shrugged dispassionately at him and turned back to the brunette that had started talking to him. Harry discreetly scooted closer and listened in.

"Hey Cloud, you want to look at this with me? It's a map of the Midgar Rail System," she said. _So I'm in Midgar,_ Harry concluded.

"Here, I'll explain it to you, Cloud. I like this kinda stuff. Bombs and monitors...you know, flashy stuff." Harry heard her tap a few buttons. "This is a complete model of the city of Midgar. It's about a one ten-thousandth scale. The top plate is about fifty meters above ground. A main support structure holds the plate up in the center, and there are other support structures built in each section."

The girl suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper; Harry scooted a bit closer and strained his ears to listen. "Psst...The No. 1 Reactor we blew up was in the northern section." She suddenly talked normally again. "Then there's No. 2, No. 3, all the way around to the No. 8 Reactor. The 8 Reactors provide Midgar with electricity."

Harry could hear a frown as she spoke more. "Each section used to be a town, with its own name. But no one in Midgar remembers them anymore. So, instead of names, we refer to them by numbered sectors. That's the kind of place this is. Phew," she took a breath to catch her breath. "This is next. Look!"

Despite the temptation to do so, Harry kept looking straight ahead, feigning disinterest in the conversation next to him. "This is the route this train is on. The route spirals around the main support structure. We just passed the center area a bit ago. There is an ID sensor device at each checkpoint. It can check the identities and backgrounds on each and every passenger on the train by linking it up to the central databank at Shinra headquarters."

At those words, Harry's heart leapt to his throat. He didn't have any sort of ID, and despite his reaching for it ages ago, he couldn't find his wand. He _did_ find Gryffindor's Sword, however, so he wasn't completely defenseless. Though, how much good a sword can be against a gun, Harry was sure it wouldn't be much. Harry heard the girl say something else, but he didn't catch what.

Harry suddenly heard the large man speak again, over the soft snoring of one of his comrades. "Look...you can see the surface now. This city don't have no day or night. If that plate weren't there...we could see the sky."

'Cloud' walked over and looked out the window. Harry glanced out, too. "A floating city...Pretty unsettling scenery."

The gun-arm man stood up and smirked at 'Cloud.' "Huh? Never expect that outta someone like you. You jes' full of surprises." He took a deep breath and began to growl. "The upper world...a city on a plate...It's 'cuz of that effing 'pizza,' that people underneath are sufferin'! And the city below is full of polluted air! An' on toppa that, the Reactors keep drainin' up all the energy."

"Then why doesn't everyone move up onto the plate?" 'Cloud' asked reasonably.

"Dunno," Barret replied, calmly. "Probably 'cuz they ain't go no money. Or, maybe...they lover their land, no matter how polluted it gets."

'Cloud' nodded in understanding. "I know. Nobody lives in the slums because they want to. It's like this train. It can't go anywhere except for where its rails take it."

A few minutes of terse silence followed, broken the sound of screeching brakes. The train came to a grounding halt, and all the exit doors opened. The passengers filed out of the train car, followed by the group of terrorists. _It must be these guys that bombed the Reactor...but I don't know enough about this place to know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing._

Seeing that he was the last one left, Harry stood up and patted the hilt of his sword before stepping toward the door. Before he could step off, however, he was shoved backwards as the large man with gun on his arm came back in and shut the door. "Hey! What gives!" Harry grunted, getting back to his feet.

"Yer not bad at teh stealthy stuff, kid," he said calmly, crossing his arms and studying him closely. "You were a bit obvious 'bout listenin' to Jesse an' Cloud." Harry didn't say anything; though he ready to run down the car and through the door at the other end, but something made him want to hear this guy out. "Lissen...I know ye know abou' the Reactor. What do you think of it?"

Harry hadn't expected that. Nevertheless, he thought for a minute, then remembered his earlier thoughts. "I don't really know. You could say I'm new around here; I don't know anything about this place. I'd rather not decide anything for certain until I know more," he answered truthfully.

Harry recognized the look in the man's eyes as he started lecturing Harry on what the Reactors were doing to the planet. It was the same fiery gleam that was in Hermione's eyes whenever she started on about S.P.E.W.

At the end of his lecture, the man (he introduced himself as Barret) asked, "Get all o' that?"

Harry nodded slowly. "So these Reactors are sucking out the 'Life Energy' of the planet, and without this energy, the planet withers and dies. Right, I got it. So, what are planning to do about it? Surely just blowing up the Reactors won't stop Shinra by itself."

"I've got it all planned ou'." Barret looked at him a bit more closely. "Hey kid, do you have a weapon?"

Harry considered this. "Well, I don't have what I normally use to defend myself, but I do have this sword...why?"

"'Cuz there be monsters in them thar hills," Barret snickered. "You'll be safe from monsters while in a populated area, but once you leave a town, you'll be confronted by wolves and robots and the like. Even some bandits, mebbe. Can't be too careful."

"Right..." Harry nodded slowly. "So...what are you doing?"

Barret shrugged. "I don't normally do this sorta thang; trying to bring down a company like the Shinra with only a few good hands requires a lot of guerilla tactics and some distrust towards the general population." He looked at Harry again. "But somethin' tells me you can be trusted. You want in AVALANCHE? We can always use some more people workin' fer us."

Harry thought over his options. He was being offered a job of sorts – a dangerous one, to be sure, but he had faced plenty of danger before (he had beaten Voldemort, the most powerful Dark wizard in over a century, after all!) – and would probably have a place to stay at night (whenever it seemed night actually fell; Barret was right, Midgar didn't have a day or night, not underneath the upper level). He was also being offered some allies.

On the other hand, if he refused, it was quite likely that he'd be killed so that Shinra couldn't get any information from him should _they_ catch him. And, video game or not, Harry wasn't sure what would happen to him if he died in here – it certainly felt real enough, and he was sure his bum was a little bruised from being pushed to the floor of the train. He also knew that, in a fight, this Barret would pulverize him since he didn't have his wand. Sure, he was probably faster than Barret was, but Barret had a _gun_ on his arm. Not even his Firebolt was likely to outrun speeding bullets!

Harry looked up, his decision made. "Why not? It'd give me something to do, and a steady source of information besides. Where do I sign my name in blood?"

Barret looked at him quizzically for a minute, then chuckled. "There be none of that," he chortled. "Jes' come wif' me."

* * *

Ron flipped through the pages of Hermione's spell book savagely (Hermione quickly mended the small rips and tears he made with a silent _Reparo_ charm). Ron soon stopped on the pages he was looking for, pointing out the spells he had used on the Muggle device.

"I see," Remus said, looking over his shoulder. "Well, it would be a bad idea to try to enchant the device to let Harry out. Especially without a proper understanding of how it was made to work to begin with."

"So what do we do, Remus?" Ginny asked worriedly. "Who knows what Harry could be facing in that thing!?"

"Anyone watching the TV, Ginny, that's who," Tonks replied. She pointed at the TV where Harry seemed to be talking with a large black man who, Tonks realized, looked somewhat like that Muggle actor she once saw in commercials over in the States, a man named Mr. T. Reading the words as they came up on the screen in a blue text box, she could even imagine what he sounded like as he spoke.

Ron and Hermione had immediately called for Harry's friends and (surrogate) family as soon as they realized Harry was inside the Playstation 2. However, only Remus, Tonks, Ginny, and the Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt had been able to come right away.

"So what? It's not like we can help him or anything," Ginny shot back.

"Not yet, anyway," Remus replied, bemused. At first, he had thought that Ginny and Lily couldn't be more different, despite their similar appearances. But as he got to know Ginny (both as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and as a friend) he came to see the same fiery disposition Lily often displayed (usually towards James and Sirius, though Remus himself had caught his fair share of glares from her). _I'm starting to think that the Potter men have a thing for passionate red-heads,_ Remus thought, unable to completely hide a chuckle. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice it.

Ron sighed in relief. "You know, in a way, I'm kinda glad that Mum and Dad aren't here right now. Dad would be fussing with that thing, trying to take it apart and see how it works, while Mum would screaming everyone's ears off yelling at me. It won't help any of us to have that much extra pressure, you know?"

Ginny looked askance at him. "You know what, Ron? You're really not quite as dense as you look."

Ron frowned. "What is it this, Pick-On-Ron Day?"

"Well, it is kinda _your_ fault for this whole mess. You _did_ charm the thing, after all," Hermione sniped.

"I know, 'Mione, I know." Ron sighed. "And it's tearing me up right now."

Those who knew Ron the best (that were in the room, anyway) fell into shocked silence. "What?" he asked.

"You..." Hermione paused, straightening her thoughts. "Normally, you don't accept the consequences of your actions this quickly."

Ron blushed. "Well..." He scratched the back of his head. "It's kind of hard not to, knowing that something I've done has directly put my best mate in danger. And he doesn't even have his wand to protect himself."

"He's not without a weapon, though," Tonks suddenly spoke up. "He just said he has a sword with him."

Hermione looked at the screen. "It's probably Gryffindor's Sword. Or, at least, a sword similar in size. Otherwise, we'd be able to see it, whether it was inside his robes or not."

"True dat," Tonks said, earning strange looks for her use of American slang.

* * *

Sirius: I don't like this. Harry's acting all...Slytherin-y.

He's just using his head and trying to stay alive, Sirius. Just because someone thinks before they act, doesn't make them a Slytherin. You might try thinking sometime, rather than acting on impulse.

Harry: I second that.

Sirius: Impulse has served me well before.

Except for taunting your cousin.

Sirius: Yeah, well...nobody's perfect.

Harry: True dat.


	3. AVALANCHE!

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to HP or FF. If, for some inane reason you believe I do, I can recommend an excellent psychologist. His name is Severus Snape, Potions Master and former Potions Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He's guaranteed to find out what your problem is, and is perfectly willing to give you a very healthy dose of sarcasm to boot.

Woot! It's chapter three!

Harry: You're celebrating the fact that you've written three chapters?

Sirius: Well, you know what they say, Harry. Three strikes and -

Finish that thought and you'll be spending some time at obedience school.

Sirius: whimpers I'll be good.

Harry: Wow. I've never seen Sirius subdued like that. What's with obedience school that has him so cowed?

Sirius: muttering Keep them away, keep them away...

Um...you don't want to know.

Sirius: They hurt you, didn't they, precious? Oh yes they did...

Harry: Maybe we should send him to see Dr. Snape.

Sirius: Foul cretin! Have at thee!

Maybe not...

* * *

Barret led Harry through a small town, which primarily consisted of ramshackle buildings that reminded Harry of the Shrieking Shack (albeit in much better condition). They stopped outside a bar, whose glowing neon sign read 'Seventh Heaven.'

"Jes a second, kid," Barret commented before ducking inside. Harry heard the sounds of gun shots, then jumped aside as all the patrons inside came running out in a panic. A bar maid (possibly the owner?) stood outside, bowing apologetically. She wore a tight, white tank top that exposed her midriff, a short brown leather miniskirt, comfortable-looking boots, and leather gloves with a metal knuckle stitched over her fingers. Her shoulder-length brown hair was kept secure with a hair tie down near the end of her hair. She ducked back inside once the patrons had all disappeared.

Barret's comrades all entered the bar, having been given the go-ahead by the large man himself. He nodded at Harry. "Ok! Go on ahead!" He then turned and bellowed something at someone; "Yo! Cloud! Get off your slow-movin' ass!"

Chuckling despite himself, Harry hopped over the railing (Barret was blocking the stairs) and pushed through the tavern door. The stares he received from those inside brought back the irksome feelings he used to feel whenever he entered the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" the thin man with the rifle interrogated him without a moment's hesitation.

"Give me your name, and I'll give you mine," Harry shot back

"You're the kid from the train," the short-haired brunette observed. "The one listening to Cloud and me."

_Is everyone so bloody perceptive in this game?_ Harry thought.

Rifle shot an intense glare at her. "If you knew he was listening, then why were you still speaking?"

"I only noticed it afterwards, Biggs!" she shot back. _Must be 'Jesse,'_ Harry realized.

"As it is," the portly guy cut in, "the damage has been done, and he must have spoken with Barret. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here."

Just then, another guy came into the bar. He didn't see Harry, as the Boy-Who-Lived had taken a seat to the side while 'Jesse' had been telling 'Biggs' off. It was Cloud; the huge sword and his spiky blond hair made him more readily identifiable than Harry's scar did in Diagon Alley.

"Papa!" a little girl's voice cried out from behind the bar. A girl ran out of the bar and had come close to wrapping her arms around Cloud's legs before she realized that Cloud wasn't who she thought he was. She backed up fearfully and shyly, to stand behind the long-haired woman Harry had seen outside a few minutes ago.

"Marlene! Aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?" she chided the child. Turning to the aforementioned person, she smiled. "Welcome home, Cloud. Looks like everything went well."

"It was alright," came the response.

"Did you fight with Barret?" At Cloud's nod, the lady gave an exasperated sigh. "I should have known. He's always pushing people around, and you've always been in fights ever since you were little. I was worried..." Cloud shrugged nonchalantly.

Everyone's attention (excluding the girl called Marlene) then turned back to Harry. "So, what's your story, kid?" Biggs asked. He seemed a bit calmer and more apt to listen, having a drink in the past several minutes.

"..." Harry didn't say anything at first. It was rather an irksome feeling, having a room full of people (almost all of them armed with some kind of weapon) waiting to hear an explanation from you. He certainly couldn't tell the truth, either - too many questions, and that's assuming they believed him in the first place. Before he could decide on what to tell them, Barret burst in through the door.

"Papa! Welcome home!" With her father finally coming in, Marlene ran up and attempted a pathetic (but nonetheless very cute, Harry admitted) attempt at what Harry had taken to calling a 'huggle' - a hug that pretty much involved tackling someone and squeezing them until their ribs started to crack. Chuckling, Barret lifted his daughter (Harry couldn't see any resemblance - perhaps Barret had adopted the little girl?) onto his shoulder.

"You all right, Barret?" The girl in the miniskirt asked.

"Great! Never better!" the leader of AVALANCHE replied, grinning in a feral manner. He then waved his left hand at everyone and motioned them towards the broken down pinball machine in the back. "Get in here, fools! We're startin' the meetin'!" He then presses a button on the machine, and it sprang to life, lowering him and Marlene down into a hidden basement. Biggs, Jesse, and the pudgy bloke all jumped down after him. After they disappeared from view, the machine came back up. Harry silently rode it back down, not wanting to risk breaking a leg and making himself look like an idiot in front of everyone.

Biggs and the pudgy bloke were sitting at a table set in the middle of the small basement. They appeared to be looking over some documents. Jesse was working at a computer terminal set against the wall. In the corner next to the computer, a big-screen TV was displaying the news. Marlene was sitting on a pile of boxes a few feet behind Barret, who was busy punching away at a bag standing in the corner.

"Oops," Harry heard Jesse mutter. He looked over her shoulder at the screen, but the figures displayed on the monitor looked like gibberish to him. _Hermione could probably understand it, though,_ Harry thought with a small grin.

Jesse seemed to sense his presence (though he wouldn't put it past her to have seen his shadow) and looked up at him. "Hey, did you see the news? What a blast," she smiled. "Think that was all because of my bomb?"

"It must have been. That, or the initial explosion caught some explosive materials somewhere, causing them to explode as well," Harry reasoned.

Jesse nodded. "All I really did was just make it like the computer told me."

"Flashy stuff, right?" Harry quipped. Jesse nodded and turned back to her work.

"Oh no! I made a miscalculation somewhere! Gimme a few minutes while I work it out."

Harry heard the pinball elevator come to life again, and when he looked, he found Cloud stepping off. "Yo. Cloud! There's somethin' I wanna ask ya," Barret called, pausing his punching routine. "Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today?"

Cloud crossed his arms and shook his head slowly. "None. I'm positive."

Harry noted his confidence. "You sound pretty sure."

Cloud smirked at him. "If there was anyone from SOLDIER, Barret wouldn't be standing here now."

"Don't go thinkin' you so bad jes' 'cuz you was in SOLDIER!" Barret grumbled. Cloud didn't say anything, but the AVALANCHE leader continued speaking. "Yeah, you're strong. Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are. But don't forget your skinny ass's working for AVALANCHE now! Don't be getting' no ideas 'bout hangin' on to Shinra!"

"Staying with Shinra?" Cloud shouted back. "You asked me a question and I answered it...that's all." Cloud walked up to the large man. Though Barret was a good two heads taller than Cloud (and almost completely composed of muscle, Harry thought) the spiky-haired blonde didn't so much as flinch at the leader's expression. "I'm going upstairs. I want to talk about my money." With that, Cloud turned and started walking toward the elevator. As he passed by Harry, Tifa came down on it.

"Wait, Cloud!" she cried.

"Tifa! Let him go!" Barret rumbled. "Looks like he still misses the Shinra!"

"Shut up!" Cloud bellowed. "I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER!" He stood upon the platform of the elevator. "But don't get me wrong," he added, pressing the button. "I don't care about AVALANCHE or the Planet for that matter." A few minutes later, the elevator came back down, empty. Tifa immediately took it up and went after Cloud.

_Right,_ Harry thought. _Tifa's_ so _got the hots for him._ Harry briefly mused how long it would take Cloud to notice.

"We've got a big day tomorrow," Barret suddenly announced. "So you all better get some rest." He then started to climb, hand-over-hand, up the wires and pipes to the first floor.

There weren't any beds, Harry noticed. He watched as the other three members of AVALANCHE bunkered down into sitting positions against the wall.

"I don't think I ever caught your name, kid," Jesse said when Harry settled back against the wall a few feet from her. "I did think it was funny, though, how you told Biggs off upstairs."

Harry grinned at the memory. "I heard that line somewhere; I can't remember where, but I always wanted to try it at least once." He turned his head toward the brunette. "My name's Harry. Harry Potter."

"You probably know already, but I go by Jesse." Harry nodded. "Biggs is that guy over there," she motioned toward the guy with the rifle, "while Wedge is the chumpy fellow next to him."

"Hey! It's not my fault that Tifa's cooking is so good!" Wedge protested.

"You don't have to take her up on her offer to taste her cooking, though, Wedge. You admitted it yourself; you're roly-poly because of it," Biggs sniggered. Despite the expressions on their faces, Harry could tell they were only joking. _Perhaps, when you and a few people have been fighting a desperate fight for long enough, perhaps joking around is the only way to let off the stress..._

* * *

Harry: You wouldn't _really_ send Sirius to obedience school, would you?

No, but it's fun to threaten him.

Harry: So what's with Sirius and the obedience school, anyway?

You're not going to give up on it until you find out, are you?

Harry: Nope. And Sirius is busy talking to himself in his god-awful Gollum impersonation.

Let's just say that Sirius witnessed something terribly wrong at the obedience school. I don't know how, but he managed to gather evidence of it (mostly pictures) and gave them to me. I've alerted the proper authorities, and that particular school has been shut down and those responsible punished, but Sirius seems to have gotten it into his head that all obedience schools use that...particular activity as punishment for gross disobedience from the dogs closer to graduation. Speaking of Sirius...where is he?

Harry: I dunno. He said something about the old days, and set out to look for Professor Lupin.

I'm sure Remus will get him to see reason again.

Meanwhile

Sirius: It was terrible Remus! We have to avenge those poor dogs for being victimized!

Remus: Sirius, that school is shut down for good and the criminals have been arrested. What more do you want?

Sirius: I want them castrated! That's what I want!

Remus: Now _that's_ cruel and unusual punishment.


	4. A Lecture On Materia

Disclaimer: Me no own HP or FF copyrights. If you think I do, then you dumb. Ha ha!

Harry: Isn't that a little mean?

Maybe, but it's funny, too.

Sirius: I like it.

Harry: You would.

Sirius: What's that supposed to mean?

Harry: Exactly what it sounds like.

I'm just gonna start the chapter before these two get into it more deeply.

Sirius tackles Harry and they began to wrestle

Meh.

* * *

"Okay Ron, tell us again how you compacted all thirteen discs into one?" Hermione asked for the fifth time.

Ron sighed. "I asked McGonagall for help in Transfiguring a series of objects into one so I wouldn't have to actually get up and retrieve the next item in the sequence when I finished the previous one. After she coached me on the best spell to use, I thanked her and closed the connection." Ron waved his wand in a careful imitation of the movements required for the spell he'd performed on the discs.

Remus looked thoughtful. "That's not an easy spell, Ron. While the results were - and still are - unpredictable in regards to using it on Muggle technology, your spell work was good." Ron flushed under the phrase.

"That still doesn't help Harry, though," Ginny reminded them.

"We can't fix a problem without knowing how it came to be in the first place," Hermione argued.

"It may be," Shacklebolt cut in, speaking for the first time since greeting everyone on his arrival, "that Harry must progress completely through the stories of these 'games' before he can return."

The silence that followed that statement was palpable.

* * *

Harry awoke to a slight crick in his neck and a stiff lower back. He stood up and stretched, pleasantly surprised that his usual nightmares of the war with Voldemort hadn't bothered him here. He vaguely thought it might have something to with him actually _physically_ being in a video game, but that thought left as quickly as it had come. He finished stretching and rode the pinball elevator back upstairs to be greeted with the sight of Tifa and Barret standing around talking about whatever Barret seemed to have planned for the day, and little Marlene mixing drinks.

"Good morning, Harry," Tifa greeted him with a friendly smile. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept alright. Had to stretch to remove a crick in my neck and back, though," Harry admitted. He grinned self-depreciatingly. "No nightmares, though...which is a good thing."

The two AVALANCHE members frowned. "You usually have nightmares?" Tifa asked, a hint of motherly instinct in her voice.

"A fair few," Harry replied off-handedly. "They've been slowly getting better since I ended the war." Harry immediately caught his mistake as the two of them looked at him quizzically.

"What war? The one Shinra had with Wutai?"

"What's 'Whut-tie?" Harry looked at them oddly. "No, this was more of a kind of civil war in my homeland. A terrorist turned megalomaniac was killing everyone that didn't side with him."

Barret looked at him disbelievingly. "An' ya brought the fucker down, kid?"

"Well, I had a lot help," Harry admitted. "I wasn't using a sword."

"What _were_ you using, then? A gun?" Tifa asked.

"No, I was using what most people at home use."

"Which was?"

"Wa..." Harry caught himself this time. Though sure they wouldn't believe him if he told the truth, Harry didn't want to answer a lot of troublesome questions if they did, in fact, believe him. "Most people where I'm from use staffs, though swords weren't really uncommon, either," Harry finally replied. _Well,_ Harry thought to himself, _it isn't a complete lie._

Harry was spared from further questioning when the pinball elevator activated, bringing Cloud up from the basement below. "Good morning, Cloud!" Tifa greeted him brightly. "Did you sleep well?"

Cloud blinked at her. "Barret's snoring kept me up."

"Keep it down!" Tifa shushed him. Harry thought that Cloud was fortunate, indeed, for Barret didn't seem to have heard him. "They'll hear you! Barret's always edgy before an operation...and he seems even more edgy than usual."

"That's probably because it'll be my first mission," Harry whispered.

"Probably," Tifa agreed.

Cloud turned to Harry. "Hey, kid. You said you had a sword?" Harry nodded. "Let's see it."

"Sure, whatever..." Harry rolled his eyes. He reached into his robe and gripped the hilt of Gryffindor's Sword, pulling it out. The jewels sparkled in the low light, and the blade almost glowed.

"That's pretty flashy," Cloud remarked. "You sure it's usable?"

"I used it to kill a great dirty snake, if that's what you're asking," Harry shot back defensively.

"That's not really a sword, though, is it?" Cloud pulled out his own sword from his back. "_This_ is a sword."

_That thing is _huge Harry thought. Nonetheless, a smirk crept onto his face at the sight of the monstrous blade. "Why, what a big sword you have, Cloud. Are you, perchance, over-compensating for something?" Cloud's eyes bulged in surprised embarrassment as those in the room roared with laughter.

Once Tifa and Barret's laughter settled (and Cloud recovered his composure, returning his sword to his back) Tifa spoke up. "I'm going this time."

Barret spoke up. "Our target's the Sector 5 Reactor. Head for the station first. I'll fill you in on the train." Before anyone could approach the door, though, Barret called to Cloud. "Yo! Cloud! Before the next mission, I got somethin' I wanna ask you! I, uh...I don't really know how to use Materia! I'll give you that Materia we found. Just teach me how to use it!"

Cloud sighed.

_It wouldn't hurt to know how to use Materia,_ Harry thought, _once I find out what it is._ Harry decided to speak up and risk looking ignorant. "What's this Materia you speak of? And how do you use it?"

"You don't know what Materia is? What backwater island did you come from?" Tifa gasped. Harry shrugged apologetically.

Cloud pulled out his sword and popped a green orb from a slot at the base of the blade. "_This_ is a Materia. There are five different kinds: Blue support, Green magic, Red summon, Yellow command, and Purple independent. As you can see, this particular Materia is green; it permits me to use a specific type of magic. What you can't see without a closer look, is that this Materia is 'Ice.' As its name suggests, it lets me cast Ice magic, which is effective against bugs and fire-aligned monsters." For his part, Harry absorbed every word fairly easily. "There are, of course, other kinds of magic Materia."

"Of course," Harry supplied, only half-mocking. Cloud smirked.

"It looks like your sword doesn't have any slots for Materia; in that case, you'll only be able to use Materia with a Materia bracelet," Tifa noted.

"See? It wasn't that tough!" Cloud chided Barret. He turned back to Harry. "There's just one thing you want to be careful of. Whenever you equip Materia, your dynamic changes. Parts of you become stronger...while others become weaker. It's kinda like a double-edged sword. Generally, when you equip Magic and Summon Materia, your magic power gets stronger, but your physical strength suffers. There are, naturally, some Independent Materia that bolsters physical strength to help the more physically-minded warriors minimize this weakness." Cloud nodded. "Okay, that's about it. If you like, I can give you some advanced tips later, when you've got more experience with using Materia."

"Thanks, Cloud," Harry grinned. _Finally, someone who doesn't keep others in the dark!_

"Shi...!" Barret grumbled, looking confused. "What's this 'It wasn't that tough' crap! I'm clueless!" Barret thought for a moment. "Fine! You handle the Materia then, Cloud!"

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Tifa exclaimed. "Cloud, the man at the Weapon Shop across from the bar wanted to give you something. Don't forget to stop by."

"I can take the kid to get a bracelet while we're there," Cloud offered.

"I have a name, you know," Harry growled.

"I'm sure you do, but I don't really care," Cloud shot back.

Tifa turned to Barret's daughter. "Marlene! You watch the store while we're gone!"

"All right!" Marlene agreed. "Good luck!"

Where Tifa and Barret headed for the train station, Cloud led Harry (all weapons put away) to a three story building across from the bar. Inside were two men; one was behind a counter, and was obviously the shop keep, where the other was shooting at a target at the far wall with a pistol.

"Ooh! Customers!" the clerk exclaimed with joy. "Welcome! Welcome! We sell! We buy! What can I do for you?"

"Got any money, kid?" Cloud asked Harry.

The wizard dug through the pockets in his robes and pulled out five golden Galleons and thirteen silver Sickles. "A bit. Probably enough to buy this bracelet you keep talking about. I don't know if shops here use the same currency my home does, though."

The eyes of both Cloud and the shop keep widened at the sight of the shining coins. "Well, it's obviously not gil, but they look like they're worth a pretty penny," the clerk remarked. "You said you need a Materia bracelet? We carry a four-slot leather gauntlet and a three-slot iron bangle. I'll give you the gauntlet for all the silver, or the bangle for one of those gold coins and two of the silver ones."

Concluding that gil must be the currency here, Harry nodded at the reasonable-sounding deal. "Alright, sounds good." He looked at Cloud. "Which would you suggest?"

"You're asking me, kid?"

"It's not like I know anything beyond what you told me about Materia a little bit ago," Harry remarked snidely.

"Good point. Well, considering the _sword_ you have with you, you'd probably be better off with the gauntlet. The metal bangles are fairly heavy, both because they're metal and because you can practically use them as bucklers to ward off attacks." Cloud gained a thoughtful expression. "Normally, I would tell you to have these coins to find their value in gil, but we're a bit strapped for time at the moment."

"Right. These are useless here otherwise," Harry agreed. He plunked down all thirteen Sickles. "I'll take the leather gauntlet."

"Fine choice, lad," the clerk responded. He pulled down a small box from a shelf near the top of the converted bookcase behind him, pulled off the lid and handed the glove to Harry with one hand while taking the silver coins with the other. "It's one size fits all."

Harry loosened the straps and slid the glove over his right hand (while it could used on either hand, Harry figured he might as well wear on his right, to help ward off calluses and blow-induced numbness from using his sword) and tightened the straps so that the gauntlet was secure and tight, but not uncomfortably so.

"Thanks for your business, lad," the shop keep smiled kindly.

"Thank you, sir," Harry returned. He then turned to Cloud. "And thanks for the advice, Cloud."

Cloud shrugged. "Cloud?" the clerk cried. "_You're_ Cloud?"

"Yeah. Tifa said you had wanted to see me about something?"

"Just a minute, lad, I'll go fetch it for ya." The clerk disappeared behind a door, then returned carrying a small box. He set it on the counter, and opened it. Inside was a shining purple Materia. "It's a Counter-attack Materia. I'm sure you know how it works."

"I see." Cloud picked up the violet orb and slotted it into place on the metal wrist he wore on his left forearm. "Thanks, old man."

_Counter-attack Materia?_ Harry looked thoughtful as they left the store and made their way toward the train station. "You need a specialized Materia just to strike back at an enemy?" he wondered aloud.

Cloud sighed. He looked as though he was tiring of explanations, but he seemed to decide to indulge Harry's curiosity a bit more. "Not technically, no. With enough skill and training, one could conceivably counter-attack without this Materia. It's just a lot easier to have it."

_Like using a wand to use magic,_ Harry thought. "I understand." Without another word, the pair boarded the train. A minute later, the train whistled and began to trundle down the tracks.

* * *

Harry and Sirius are joking and laughing

Meh. I still don't get how you two can go from fighting like dogs (pun intended) to being all chummy again.

Sirius: groans That's awful, Cor. Don't ever pun like that again.

Why not? It's a lot of fun to aggravate people with lame jokes like that.

Sirius: I guess that's true.

Harry: Just don't ask Sirius about the joke he made about his name.

Sirius: groans even louder I _told_ you to stop bringing that up!

What, the Sirius/serious joke? It's brilliant!

Sirius: Yeah, for the first few times I said it. Then it got old.

Harry: And when Sirius says a joke is old, it's _Serius_-ly old.

Sirius: Oi!

Harry? That was _Sirius_-ly bad.

Sirius: changes into Padfoot and crawls underneath the bed

Cool, now I'll have some extra _Padding_ on my bed.

Sirius: whimpers


	5. Security Alert!

Disclaimer: Je ne possède pas Harcèlent le Potier ou la Fantaisie Finale.

Sirius: Hey, that's French! Not bad.

I thought you were under the bed?

Sirius: Well, it's not very Gryffindor-ish to hide under the bed, now is it?

True dat. By the way, Sirius, tu parles francois?

Sirius: Just a little. More than enough to recognize the French language, though. I'm better at speaking Italian, though.

Harry: in an Italian accent that's not very good Ah, Italiano, ze musical language!

Down boy.

Harry and Sirius: Hey!

* * *

Hermione and Remus were flipping through a collection of obscure spell books while Tonks, Ron, and Ginny watched Harry on the TV, keeping the others up-to-date on Harry's condition. Shacklebolt had went for take-out.

"Remus, what about this one? It's a spell used to communicate telepathically using the target's and caster's magical cores as the medium," Hermione suggested.

"Does it say anything about distance or obstacles?"

"No, except to say that it's been proven to work from directly opposite sides of the Earth. It does mention the possibility of successful communication through dimensions, but is not guaranteed or even considered safe," Hermione summarized.

"We'll keep that one in mind. There may be a safer or more promising spell in these books," Remus advised. Neither pair of eyes left their respective books.

"I wonder if these 'Materia' are like the cores of wands," Ginny...well...wondered aloud.

"I don't think so," Ron said. "As that bloke in purple said, each Materia has its own use. They're probably not multi-purpose like wands are."

"That 'Ice' Materia did only let him cast Ice spells, he said," Tonks agreed.

"But still," Ron said, "I don't know how they react with Harry. I'm not sure if I even _want_ to know."

"We'll probably find out, I'll bet," Ginny remarked, "since it's more than likely that Harry will end up using some later."

"True dat," Tonks nodded.

* * *

"YO!" Barret roared over the noise of the train cars connecting to his followers. "Looks like this ain't no private car! So split up!" He nodded at Cloud, Tifa, and Harry. "Y'all stay wit' me!" Harry resisted the urge to snap a salute, though the probable look on Barret's face was tempting.

Harry's eye caught sight of a familiar looking face. _It's the same man that left the car last night when Barret and the others came in,_ Harry realized. The man, who had been standing, covered his face and moaned, clearly audible, "...hoodlums again. God, don't I just have all the luck..." He sat down and, crossing his legs, began staring blankly at the window across from him.

"You say sumthin'?" Barret challenged. He walked right up to the guy. "I said, you say sumthin'!?" At the lack of response, Barret smirked. "Well, lookit that! It got empty alluva sudden! What's goin' on?"

The man looked up and swore. "DAMN!" He paled. "I...it's empty because of...g-guys like you..." Before he could say another word, he received a powerful backhand slap from Barret. "YIPES!" He cowered, rather like Pettigrew, Harry noticed with disgust. The man whimpered, "You...you've seen the news, right? AVALANCHE says there'll be more bombings. Only devoted employees like me would go to Midgar on a day like today."

Barret jumped back and pointed his gun-arm at the Shinra employee. "You work for Shinra!?"

"I won't give in to violence," the man whimpered a bit more. Then, in a voice Harry nearly broke his ears straining to hear it, added, "...and I won't give you my seat either."

"BARRET!!!" Tifa bellowed.

Barret backed down. "Fuck!! You lucky bitch!" The leader of AVALANCHE returned to the back of the car with Harry, Tifa, and Cloud.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Cloud asked.

"Shit!" Barret grumbled. "The hell you so calm about? You're bustin' up my rhythm!"

A sudden rumbling drowned out further conversation. A few seconds later, the train began to move. "Seems like they just finished connecting the cars," Tifa observed. "We're finally leaving."

"So what's the target, Barret?" Harry asked.

"Hah! Listen to Mr. Serious-About-His-Work!" Barret chuckled.

_Great,_ Harry thought to himself. _Another title that needs hyphenation._

"Awright...I'll tell ya!" Barret began. "Jesse may have you told you, but there's a security check point at the top plate. It's an ID scan system checkin' all the trains."

"Which Shinra is very proud of," Tifa cut in.

"We can't use our fake ID's anymore," Barret concluded.

The intercom speaker crackled to life as a voice said, "Good morning and welcome to Midgar Lines. Arrival time at Sector 4 station will be in approximately five minutes."

"Alright," Barret declared, "in five minutes, we're jumpin' offa this train! Got it!?"

"Jumping off the train?" Harry gasped.

"It's no big deal," Cloud remarked with dry humor. "This train is only traveling about forty or fifty kilometers an hour. Not very fast. As long as you roll when hit the ground, you should only take a few bruises, maybe a scrape."

"Maybe..." Harry conceded. It certainly couldn't be worse than a fifteen-meter drop straight down to the ground, could it? Granted, Dumbledore _had_ used the _Arresto Momentum_ spell to slow his fall, and the ground was soaked with rain, making it soft, but still...

"Come here, Cloud," Tifa motioned. "Let's look at the railway map monitor."

"I've already seen it last night with Jesse," Cloud replied.

"Oh," Tifa answered, saddened.

_Yup, Cloud doesn't have a clue. And I thought Ron was thick,_ Harry thought with a grin.

* * *

"Oi!" Ron cried in protest as Harry's latest statement (in parenthesizes to signify it as a thought, rather than out-loud speech) came onto the screen.

"He makes a good point," Ginny laughed. "You were completely oblivious for almost six years."

"Yeah, but still...it's the _principle_ of the thing," Ron grunted.

"And you're still pretty clueless about women today, Ron," Tonks added. The youngest male Weasley groaned, blushing to his hair roots, and covered his face with his hands. Had any of the three of them been looking, they'd notice that Remus was smirking and Hermione was blushing and grinning at the same time.

"Did I miss something?" Of course, the Auror named Shacklebolt had chosen that moment to walk in, levitating a couple of bags of Chinese take-out with his wand.

"Nope, nothing," Tonks grinned cheekily. "Let us at the food!"

"Hear, hear," Ron mumbled despondently.

"Oh, chin up, Ron," Ginny elbowed him. "We're just taking the mickey out of you."

* * *

The car suddenly became doused in a blood-red light as a siren began blaring. "Type A Security Alert!!! Unidentified passengers confirmed! A search of all the cars will be conducted! Repeat! Type A Security Alert!!! Unidentified passengers confirmed! A search of all the cars will be conducted!"

"What's happening?" Tifa cried.

"What's goin' on!?" Barret roared.

Jesse rushed in through the door. "We're in trouble! I'll explain later! Hurry! Get to the next car!"

"Fuck!" Barret grumbled, pulling Harry and Tifa along with him as he made his way toward the door Jesse ran back through. "Someone blew it..."

"Unidentified passengers located in Car #1," the slightly digitized voice said over the intercom. "Preparing for lock down."

"Let's go! Keep it up!" Barret ordered. Tifa, Cloud, and Harry pressed through the door into the next car, followed by the AVALANCHE leader.

"Car #1 locked down. Upgrading to Level 2 Warning," the intercom warbled.

"Hurry!" Biggs called to them, running toward the next car.

"They're gonna lock the door, sir!" Wedge cried, chasing after Biggs.

"Unidentified passengers located in Car #2. Preparing for lock down."

"Just run!" Jesse yelled. "Changing to Plan B!" Barret, Cloud, Tifa, and Harry followed the brunette into the next car.

"Car #2 locked down. Upgrading to Level 3 Warning." The red light stopped flashing at this statement.

"Awright! We clear?" Barret asked.

"Not yet; they're starting another search!" Jesse replied. "If we're caught, we're done for! But don't worry," she explained. "If we move up the train, car by car, we should be able to escape!" She turned and started to run for the next car, only to be stopped when a man grabbed her arm. Jesse broke free and knocked him down with a quick roundhouse kick before fleeing through the door. Harry and Tifa followed after her, with Barret and Cloud behind them.

"Unidentified passengers are confirmed to be moving toward the front of the train. Currently tracking location..."

As they squeezed through the door into the final car, the lights came back on and the doors to the other cars slammed shut and clicked as the locks fell into place. "Car #4 locked down. Upgrading to Maximum Security Alert!!!"

"Alright, we made it!" Barret ran toward the front of the car where, Harry now saw, was a door on the side of the car. An 'EXIT' sign glowed dimly in the low light just above it. "Yo! This way!" He threw open the door, revealing the tunnel wall outside as lights on it flashed by. "Let's go! We're gonna dive outta here!"

Tifa, Cloud, and Harry walked up to the door. "Scary, huh..." Tifa remarked.

"A bit," Harry agreed.

"Too late to be saying that now," Cloud snapped. "Why did you come along anyway, Tifa?"

Tifa smiled and looked down. "...Because..."

"Hey you two!" Barret scolded. "Ain't no time for that!"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah! I've made up my mind. Watch closely; I'm gonna jump!' Once Tifa's jump brought her outside the door of the train car, she disappeared as her decreased momentum let the train car leave her behind. Cloud followed soon after.

Harry turned to Barret. "You don't mind if I go first?"

"A leader always stays til the end," the large man told him. "Don't worry about me, just go!"

"Right." Harry had only stepped to the door when Barret stopped him for a moment.

"Yo! Don't go getting' your scrawny little ass hurt! It's only the beginning of the mission!"

"I'm a hero, Barret. The hero always makes it no matter what!" Harry quipped before he placed his right foot on the edge and pushed off.

_This is one of the stupidest things I've ever done,_ Harry thought before his body hit the ground. He let himself fall to the ground and roll away from the speeding train, feeling only a bit sore as he stood up. He checked himself for major injuries, but seemed fine. _Guess that joke was true after all,_ he mused as Cloud and Tifa joined him. Barret appeared half a minute later.

* * *

Harry: I resent being called a 'scrawny little ass.'

It was Barret that said it, not me. And it's not like you have spiky blonde hair, you know.

Harry: But still, it's the _principle_ of the thing.

Sirius: That line is starting to annoy me.

It doesn't take much of anything to annoy you, does it, Sirius?

Harry: _Sirius_-ly.

Sirius: groans


	6. Assault on the No 5 Reactor

Disclaimer: Non possiedo il vasaio del Harry o la fantasia finale.

Harry: What language is that!?

That's Italian.

Harry: Oh.

Sirius: I thought you knew some Italian, Harry.

Harry: No, that was Hestia Jones.

Sirius: Oh.

* * *

"You're damn right that's the stupidest thing you've ever done, Harry James Potter!" Hermione and Ginny yelled at the screen simultaneously, almost throwing their take-out out of their laps and onto everything (and everyone) else. Ron and Remus rubbed their ears, as they had been sitting right next to the screaming girls.

"He can't hear us, you know," Ron grumbled.

"They're just worried about him, Ron. We all are," Remus admonished him.

"That doesn't mean they have to screech right in our ears, though," the young man argued.

"No, it doesn't," the werewolf agreed. They went back to eating.

The sound of the yelling had caused Shacklebolt and Tonks to look up from the books they had been looking at. "What's all that ruckus about, eh?" the young Metamorph called to them.

"Just Harry pulling a typical Harry stunt," Ron called back. His reply was immediately followed by cries of "RON!" and him shouting, "OW! What did you hit me for!?"

Shacklebolt chuckled. "Kids..."

* * *

"Good, so far everything has gone as planned...mostly," Barret declared. He turned toward the direction toward Sector 5. "Better not let your guard down until we get to Sector 5." He looked back at Harry, Cloud, and Tifa. "Biggs, Wedge, and Jesse got everything ready for us. So MOVE it!" The barked order made Harry and Tifa jump. "Well, the reactor's just down this tunnel."

The group of four had barely taken a step forward when Harry heard the scuttling sounds of bugs. It reminded him a bit of the acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, but Harry pushed the unsettling thought out of his mind as he pulled out Gryffindor's Sword. He noticed Cloud was gripping his massive blade with both hands, while Barret held his gun-arm out before him. Tifa, it seemed, was a martial artist, she merely tightened her gloves and stepped back into a ready stance.

From around the corner in the tunnel, a group of five silver-gray scorpion-like creatures came into view. Right behind them was a floating mechanical device. It seemed to be controlling the arthropods in front of it.

"Awright, here's what we'll do. Cloud, Tifa, Harry, keep the bugs in front busy while I blow that 'bot a new blowhole!" Barret ordered. He opened fire at the device while Cloud and Tifa ran in and struck. Cloud raised his blade and chopped one scorpion thing in half, while Tifa pummeled another with her fists and feet.

Not to be out done, Harry leapt forward and stabbed his sword clean through an insect that had tried to circle around to attack Tifa from behind. It let out a small shriek and shriveled up, disappearing into a small pile of golden coins and a potion bottle. Tifa gave him a grateful smile before pulling him down, causing the blue laser beam aimed at their heads to soar harmlessly overhead. They jumped up afterward in time to see Cloud swat away a bug that had jumped for him with the flat of his blade. It soared through the air toward them, and Tifa jumped up and caught it with a flip kick that sent it straight into the wall behind.

Needless to say, Harry was awe-struck. "How did you do that?" he asked.

Tifa giggled. "I've had lots of training and practice."

A shriek of victory rose from behind them. As Harry turned around to attack, the shriek turned into a screech of pain. Several icicles formed around it out of nowhere, then shattered, opening up several cuts on it. Harry took advantage of its distraction and lopped off its tail (a sudden twitch had caused Harry to miss the head, for which he'd been aiming). Irritated, Harry raised his foot and slammed it down on the bug's little head with satisfying _crunch_. _Teach you to sneak up on us,_ Harry thought. He saw Tifa wave at Cloud in thanks.

Though Harry hadn't paid attention to it, the sound of gunfire that was present had stopped. A tiny explosion erupted as the controlling robot finally took too much damage and was destroyed.

"I thought you killed...what was it...a 'great dirty snake,' with that sword, kid?" Cloud remarked, spinning his blade around before attaching it to the magnet on his back. "You didn't look like you had much skill with it."

"I _did_ say that I was more used to using a short staff," Harry protested. "I'll admit to being lucky to killing that basilisk, though."

Tifa and Cloud began to laugh. "You call a basilisk a 'great dirty snake'? Basilisks are little green lizards about three meters in length."

"Not where I come from," Harry shook his head. "Where I'm from, a basilisk is this massive snake that kill you just by looking into your eyes. Although...there is a partial defense against that, but it's not much; by seeing a reflection or by looking through a ghost, you're only Petrified instead. Then there are the poisonous fangs that are about a third of a meter long."

"Sounds a bit like the Midgar Zolom," Cloud nodded knowledgably. He bent down and scooped up the bottle, handing it to Harry. The coins disappeared into Barret's money pouch. "Though the Zolom can't kill just by looking at you."

"Just where did you say you came from, Harry?" Tifa asked.

"Erm...it's a place only few people have ever heard of. It's called...'Hogwarts.'"

"Ain't never heard o' that place before," Barret remarked.

"My people like to...hide themselves from the general public," Harry explained. "If the world knew what we could do...they'd either try to exterminate us...or, more likely, try to use us to solve their problems for them."

"Those are good reasons to secret an entire population away," Cloud observed. "Still, that sounds a lot like cowardice to me."

"Hmm..." Harry _had_ considered that perspective. "You may have a point. You know, only I and a few other people ever actually called that megalomaniac by anything other than 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.' If that's not cowardly, I don't know what is."

"That's stupid."

Harry nodded. "You know, the headmaster at my school kept saying, 'Fear of a name, increases the fear of the thing itself.' He was the one to convince me to start calling Voldemort by his name."

* * *

"Barmy. Absolutely barmy," Ron muttered. His observation went completely ignored, however, as everyone else in the room nodded in agreement (some partially reluctant) with Harry's statement.

"Harry's right," Hermione spoke up. "Only he, Professor Dumbledore, and Moody ever said or heard the name without so much as batting an eye."

"James and Sirius were never afraid to say the name, either, now that I think about it," Remus offered. "Though Pettigrew would flinch and cower away worse than most people." His expression was neutral, but a flash of hate sparked in his eyes for a mere moment in such a way that, unless you were looking for it and looking in his eyes at the exact moment it happened, you would miss it. It was followed by an equally miniscule glint of sadness. "Lily understood that people were afraid, but that rarely kept her from scoffing at them for flinching at the mere mention of his name."

"Huh...those are dangerous-looking beams of light," Shacklebolt murmured, gathering everyone's attention to the screen, where Harry and his companions approached a set of glowing beams of green and white light.

* * *

"Those light beams are the Shinra's security sensors," Cloud declared. "We can't go any further."

Harry spotted a ventilation duct in the wall on their side of the light beams. "What about that duct?"

Barret peered at it. "That's one damn tiny hole," he grumbled. "You tellin' me to squeeze into that to get under the Plate? No way!" He looked up at Cloud. "Yo, Cloud! What're we gonna do?"

Tifa got close and looked down inside. "I don't see anything that'll get us stuck in this duct."

"Yeah, but if we go down this duct, we won't be to come back up here," Cloud agreed.

"Don't be wastin' no time!" Barret growled. "Never know when the Shinra'll find us. Cloud, you jes' gotta go!" He glanced at the duct again. "But, damn, man, that thing gives me the creeps!"

"Claustrophobic much, Barret?" Harry snickered, though not without sympathy. If _Harry_ was as big as the gun-arm toting leader of AVALANCHE, he wouldn't want to try squeezing into an air duct like that either.

"I ain't afraid of nothin'!" the large man shot back, still growling. As if to prove it, he went and climbed inside the duct first. As he squeezed himself inside and crawled down, Harry could hear a lot of swearing and even a few rounds of gunfire. After several tense minutes of this, Barret finally called back, "Phew! Finally out! Alright, you three, it's clear. Come on down!"

Cloud looked at Tifa. "Ladies first, Tifa."

Tifa shook her head, grinning. "To be the first to die? I don't think so, Cloud. _You_ can go first this time."

Harry interrupted them before they could bicker any further. "_I'll_ go down first. Hopefully that will keep you two from bickering like an old married couple." Harry's words were rewarded with a brilliant blush on both sets of cheeks and some stammering from Tifa. Smiling broadly to himself, Harry sat down and stuck his feet into the vent first, then pushed off and slid down. _Being so-called 'scrawny' does have its advantages sometimes,_ Harry thought as he shot out the other end, almost colliding with Barret's broad back.

"Sheesh, kid, could you have come outta that thing any faster? You almost bowled me over!" he grunted, keeping an eye – and his gun-arm – on the lookout.

"What can I say?" Harry shot back as Tifa slid down, quite a bit more slowly. "I'm a 'scrawny little ass,' remember?"

"True dat," Barret laughed. A few banging sounds could be heard from the duct as Cloud (or, more accurately, his huge sword) banged on the walls of the vent several times. After another minute or two, he pulled himself out of the duct headfirst and joined them.

Wedge poked his head up over the ladder leading downward before them, and looked relieved to see it was them. "Cloud, Barret, this way. The Reactor's down a few ladders, across the platform, and up a third ladder."

"Right," Cloud acknowledged, much to Barret's chagrin. The quartet followed the pudgy fellow down the set of ladders (his pistol and Barret's gun-arm quickly dispatched the few scorpion-bugs with ease as they clambered down the ladders) and they shortly stepped out onto a big platform. It could easily be a quarter-kilometer long, Harry noted, and was about half that in width. At the opposite end from where they stood, they saw another ladder. Biggs was standing there, and he greeted Barret and Cloud as the group approached.

"We're gonna pull out now," he told them. "We'll meet up back at the hideout." He turned to Cloud. "Cloud, we're countin' on you to blow the reactor!"

Wedge and Biggs pulled back, taking some other exit. Harry and Cloud climbed the ladder first and came face to face with Jesse at the top; Barret and then Tifa joined them less than a minute later.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Jesse frowned sadly. "The ID scan problem on the train was my fault. I made your ID card special...So that's why it happened. I put my heart into making it, but I failed."

"It's okay, everything worked out fine in the end," Harry replied. "But...why?"

Jesse shrugged. "I dunno. You just seemed like a cute little brother, I guess."

"'Cute little brother'?" Tifa giggled. She looked at Harry appraisingly. "You make a good point, Jesse."

"Oi!" Harry protested as Cloud and Barret began chuckling (the girls were giggling). Harry was feeling particularly chastised for something, but he wasn't sure why or what for.

"Awright, enough o' that," Barret declared a few minutes (and several glares from Harry) later. "Let's go set the bomb and blow this joint."

"See you later, guys," Jesse called, sliding down the ladder and disappearing. Harry and Tifa went through the final door first, followed by Cloud and Barret.

"Whoa." Harry was awe-struck. This room was _huge_! They were currently standing on a small platform the same level as the top floor of what could only be called a tower, where, Harry could see, some elevators were located. _There's our escape route._ Looking down, Harry's eyes followed the staircase to the bottom of the room. He also saw a pipe that was about a meter and a half wide, extending from the edge of the platform where they now stood down across the room, dropped to a vertical position about four meters off the ground.

"Alright, kid, enough gawking. Let's go," Barret grumbled. "I'll stay back and lay down some cover if any security finds us. Cloud, you go first, then Harry, and then Tifa. I'll go after everyone else."

Without a word, Cloud leapt nimbly onto the pipe, sliding down the metal tube like he was surfing. As he came to the bottom, he jumped down, hitting the floor and rolling to absorb the impact safely and without injury.

"And I thought jumping out of a speeding train was stupid," Harry muttered under his breath. A giggle told him that Tifa had heard him. "Well, here goes nothing, I guess." Harry, quite sure his trainers would not allow him to slide as Cloud had, sat down on his rear and pushed off, as he had back in the ventilation duct. He let out a gasp as he slid faster than the duct, and as he came close to the end of the angled section of the pipe, clamped his feet around the tube and slowed down. It almost worked too well; Harry managed not to fly forward head first, but it was a near thing. His descent slowed down, and Harry let go at the end, dropping the last few meters and hitting the ground in a roll as Cloud had done. He wasn't hurt.

"That wasn't very stylish, kid," Cloud smirked.

"Yeah, well, pardon me for not having Slip-n-Slide boots, Spiky," Harry snapped back. Cloud might have glared at the nickname, had Tifa not landed on her feet next to him, giggling at them and the slide.

The crack of gunfire stopped any teasing short. Turning, Harry pulled out his blade as security bots rolled up them, most of them sporting bullet holes. _Barret must not want to open fire on them with us so close to them. Doesn't want to risk hitting us by mistake,_ Harry realized when he could no longer hear Barret's gun arm.

"Machines! Tifa, cast Thunder on them!" Cloud's voice ordered as its owner leapt forward and sliced cleanly through one of the robots.

"Got it!" Tifa brought her hands together, glowed green for a moment, and then threw a hand forward. A sizzling bolt of electricity arched from her hand, striking the nearest bot and short-circuiting it. It shut down, then self-destructed. Harry managed to knock away a piece that was heading for him with Gryffindor's Sword, before swinging his blade at the security bot that was lumbering toward him.

_CLANG!_ Harry's arm was numbed by the shock as the blade left a massive dent in the machine's armor plating, but otherwise did nothing. Harry ducked down as the bot countered by firing a rotary gun that had been pointing at his face from point-blank range. Harry rolled to the side, taking another swing and slicing through a weak spot and severing several wires and hydraulic tubes. The machine staggered, but even after it had fallen over and was unable to move, it still attempted to train its rotary gun on him. Harry stabbed at another joint in the armor, and scored another hit, this one disabling what seemed to control the firing controls. He could tell because, even though the rotary gun was spinning with the barrel pointing at him, only a few sparks and a lot of smoke came out. Harry quickly moved away and kicked it from behind with annoyance before standing beside Tifa, ready to distract any bot that got past Cloud and neared the human electric prod.

"Ugh!" It seemed that a bot had struck Cloud while no one was watching. As Cloud spun around and sliced it in half with a back-hand stroke, Harry pulled out the vial he'd been given earlier; Tifa had explained to him that it was a Potion, capable of healing minor to moderate injuries and wounds.

"Here!" he called, tossing the vial toward the purple-clad fighter. Cloud turned and caught it, downing it quickly before casting the empty vial toward a robot to make it turn, only to find Cloud's massive sword coming down and splitting into two.

"Thanks, kid," he nodded at Harry. Harry nodded in return, but stumbled a bit when Barret joined them from above, crashing into a robot that had come upon the three of them from behind.

"Didn't I ever tell you to always keep an eye out for enemies!?" Barret bellowed at them.

"To be fair, Barret, you never told _me_ that," Harry shot back. That stopped Barret's upcoming rant short.

"Let's get moving. They probably know we're here, now." Tifa's logical argument made the quartet move toward the nearby door. Inside, they climbed down yet another ladder and slowly traversed a pipe that stretched from their current platform to the wall, where another ladder could be seen heading down to the level below.

Once they were safely down, the Reactor core could be seen. Harry, Cloud, and Tifa stepped forward (Barret turned around to provide cover). Standing before the Reactor, however, Cloud suddenly fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"Cloud!" Tifa cried, kneeling down next to him. Harry squatted down, too, and studied his face.

"What's wrong wit' him?" Barret called over his shoulder.

"Tifa...?" Cloud's voice, like his eyes, was very far away. Suddenly, he shook his head and looked up at the girl in question.

"Damn, man! Get a hold of yourself!" Barret shouted over his shoulder.

"You all right, Cloud?" Harry asked.

Cloud stood up. "...Tifa?"

"Mmm?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, forget it. Come on, let's hurry!" Stepping up to the main controls of the Reactor, Cloud administered what looked like a C2 plastique explosive to the panel. He plugged in a timer, and set it for thirty minutes. "That should give us enough time to escape." He pressed the START button. "Let's blow this joint!"

"Sounds good to me!" Barret agreed. The four of them ran toward the ladder, intent on making it out before the bomb blew. All the while, none of them noticed a pair of eyes watching them. Once the quartet was out of sight, the eyes stepped forward, locked onto the ticking time bomb.

* * *

Phew! That was the longest chapter yet.

Harry: Hey, Cor. Why am I...such a weakling in this story? Normally, I can hold my own in fights.

Have you actually practiced with a sword, Harry?

Harry: Well, no...

Alright then. Don't worry; you'll get better shortly. I might be tempted to have Cloud give you a few tips in swordplay.

Sirius: Will Cloud really be of use to him? His sword is bigger than I am! And that's saying something!

I'm sure Cloud has some universal tips that could be applied to any melee weapon. He is ex-SOLDIER, First Class, after all.


	7. Escape from No 5 Reactor

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy en Harry Potter zijn niet van mij en zullen dat helaas ook nooit zijn..

Sirius: Alright, what language is _that_?

Dutch.

Harry: I still like that one disclaimer that you had, the one sending people to Snape for psychological evaluation.

Yeah, me too. Though I can't decide which would be worse; Snape hunting me down for making him work more, or sending me a 'present' for giving him more business.

Sirius: The present. Definitely the present.

Harry: *nods in agreement.*

Alright, whatever.

* * *

The few security mechs they ran into on their mad dash to exit the Reactor were quickly mowed down by Cloud and Barret. Within minutes of setting the bomb, the quartet of AVALANCHE members (well, Cloud was a hired mercenary, but that's besides the point) threw themselves into an elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. They attempted to catch their breath during the two minute ride. Once the doors slid open, Cloud and Barret led the retreat. They found themselves facing a set of blast doors, with three buttons on a table in off in a small side room.

"Jesse said we have to press all three buttons at the same time to open the door," Tifa added. She stood before one button, Cloud at another, and Harry took the third. "On the count of 'three.' One...two..."

"THREE!" As one, the three of them pressed their buttons in perfect unison.

"Can't get much more perfect than that," Barret growled as the doors opened. A minute later, and everyone was gathered at the 'T' intersection of walkways outside the Reactor tower.

"This way!" Barret called, but as soon as he finished speaking, Shinra soldiers blocked the way. "Shinra soldiers! SHIT! What the hell's going on?"

"...A trap..." Harry and Cloud replied at the same time, though where Cloud spoke audibly, Harry's voice was soft and inaudible.

Then, from behind, coming out of the Reactor tower, a smartly-dressed man in a business suit, with a blonde moustache and a professional part in his blonde hair, stepped toward them, his Oxford-like shoes _clicking_ on the sidewalk. "President Shinra!?" Barret gasped.

"Why is the President here?" Tifa wondered in awe.

_That's the President of Shinra, Inc.?_ Harry thought to himself. _Kinda looks like a blonde Fudge; he only needs a lime green bowler hat._ That particular thought made Harry snort with mirth.

"Hmm..." President Shinra mused, gazing at the quartet speculatively. "So, you all must be that...what was it?"

"AVALANCHE!" Barret bellowed. "And don't ya forget it! So, you're President Shinra, huh?"

"Long time no see, President," Cloud remarked conversationally, stepping forward.

"...'Long time no see'? Oh, it's you..." the President looked momentarily confused. "You're the one who quit SOLDIER and joined AVALANCHE. I knew you were exposed to Mako, from the glow in your eyes...Tell me, traitor...What was your name?"

"Cloud Strife."

"Forgive me for asking," the President shook his head in feigned regret, "but I can't be expected to remember each person's name." He looked away, into the distance. "Unless you become another Sephiroth. Yes, Sephiroth...He was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant..."

Cloud took a step back, shocked. He shook his head. "...Sephiroth...?"

Barret shoved past Cloud. "Don't give a damn 'bout none of that! This place's goin' up with a big BANG soon! Serves y'all right!"

Shinra sneered at the AVALANCHE leader. "And such a waste of good fireworks, just to get rid of vermin like you."

"VERMIN!?" Barret roared with outrage. "That's all you can say!? VERMIN!? Y'all Shinra're the VERMIN, killing the Planet! And that makes you KING VERMIN! So shu'up jackass!"

President Shinra pretended to yawn. "You are beginning to bore me. I'm a very busy man, you see, so if you'll excuse me...I have a dinner to attend."

Barret made to run right up to him. "Dinner!? Don't gimme that! I ain't even started wit' you yet!"

"But," President Shinra smirked, snapping his fingers, "I've arranged for a playmate for you all." As he finished speaking, the dull drone of engines filled their ears.

"What's that noise?" Tifa asked. Barret ran back to stand beside her.

"The hell is this!?"

A huge, menacing-looking robot buzzes in. Barret and Tifa squeezed to the sides of the walkway to let it pass. It now hovered between the pair of Barret and Tifa, and the pair of Harry and Cloud. Each pair was, essentially, cut off from the other, as the machine took up almost the entire width of the walkway.

"Meet 'Airbuster,' a techno-soldier. Our Weapon Development team created him," Shinra remarked casually, with the air of one commenting on the weather. "I'm sure the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will be of great use to us in future experiments."

"...Techno-soldier?" Cloud repeated, dazed.

The roar of a helicopter's engines and rotors filled their ears as the copter itself hovered next to the walkway, within easy reach of President Shinra. The Shinra logo on the side of the cockpit was clearly visible. President Shinra stepped into the carriage. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." Cloud moved forward to intercept him, but was too late to catch him. The four AVALANCHE members were now left alone with the Airbuster.

"Yo, Cloud! We gotta do somethin' about this thing!" Barret called out, training his gun-arm on the armored mech as it buzzed toward him and Tifa.

"Help, Cloud, Harry!" Tifa cried out, backing up alongside Barret. Cloud and Harry approached it, weapons drawn. "THIS is from SOLDIER!?"

Cloud shook his head 'no' vigorously. "No way! It's just a machine!"

The machine spun around to face Barret and Tifa. "I don't care what it is! I'm gonna bust him up!" Barret declared, opening fire on the mech. The bullets only grazed the armor, striking sparks. Tifa's Thunder spell was _much_ more effective.

Airbuster returned fire with what sounded like a machine gun. Fortunately for Barret and Tifa, the weapon didn't rotate; they only had to press against the railings to safely permit the bullets to pass by them.

Harry leapt forward and swung his sword, scoring about as much damage against the robot's armor as Barret had. He jumped back as the Airbuster slowly turned around to confront them. Cloud came forward, his huge blade in hand, and slashed at the barrel of main gun. Despite the strength of the blow and the massive weight of the blade, Cloud only managed to bend the barrel a little as opposed to chopping through it; it was enough, however, to cause a malfunction in the weapon. It could no longer make use of its main gun; the Airbuster was forced to rely on secondary weapons, one which was a small sub-machine gun located at the base of its back.

The gunfire caught Barret and Tifa by surprise, and Tifa was forced to abandon casting Thunder again to dodge away to safety. Barret, not quite as fast as Tifa, raised his gun-arm; by a massive stroke of luck, all the bullets headed toward him clanged against the metal appendage, causing no damage.

Harry charged forward again, distracting the Airbuster with another lunging slice; this time, Harry's blade struck gold. Sparks flew out from where Harry's sword sank into a mess of exposed wires and circuitry, and Harry hurriedly pulled back to avoid being singed even more than he already was.

"Nice hit, kid," Cloud muttered, passing him a Potion. Harry gulped it down and felt the stinging burn in his hand disappear. He nodded his thanks as Cloud stepped back and cast Ice that, while not as effective as a Thunder spell, did leave it slightly damp.

Tifa caught her cue and promptly followed up with Thunder. The moisture left behind by Cloud's spell acted as a conduit (as water does) for the electricity generated by Tifa's Thunder magic. The Airbuster was very quickly and effectively damaged such that it looked like it would explode without very much more abuse.

Barret unloaded several more rounds into a newly-opened gap in the armor plating, tearing apart green circuit boards. The robot began to twitch. Harry, in a maneuver reminiscent of his battle with a two-meter-tall mountain troll when he was eleven, took a great flying leap and landed near the head of the Airbuster. Harry stabbed Gryffindor's Sword down viciously, catching the robot in the joint between the head and the shoulders. Pulling the blade out, Harry jumped back down to the walkway next to Cloud in time to watch as Cloud began to glow. He dashed forward to stop right in front of the Airbuster and crouched down, bringing his sword back behind his head. He jumped straight up into the air and with a yell, slammed the blade straight back down.

The robot didn't stand a chance. As Cloud stepped back, panting lightly, the mech's two halves leaned away from each other before it exploded, taking out the walkway between Cloud and Harry's side and Barret and Tifa's side. The sudden shockwave reversed its direction after passing Cloud and Harry without warning, knocking the two of them toward the missing walkway and the near-fifty meter drop below. Cloud, however, managed to grab hold a piece of metal from the walkway that stuck out into nothingness. Harry's hand found itself wrapped around a small piece of pipe that ran underneath the walkway on either side.

"It's gonna blow! Let's go, Tifa! There's nothing we can do for them from here!" Barret shouted as an explosion began to rock the Reactor Tower.

"Barret! Can't you do something!?" Tifa cried.

The leader of AVALANCHE shook his head. "Not a damn thing."

The owner of the Seventh Heaven bar turned back to Cloud. "Cloud! Please don't die! You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!"

"I know, Tifa..." Cloud called back.

"Oh, so I don't matter?" Harry yelled, grinning at Tifa to show that he meant no offense.

"Hey, you two gonna be awright?" Barret asked.

"We'll be fine!" Harry answered. "We're the heroes of this whole thing, right? Heroes always survive!"

"Worry about yourselves," Cloud agreed. "We'll be alright, but take care of Tifa!"

"Alright." Harry looked, and saw a grim, sorrowful expression on the face of the leader of AVALANCHE. "Sorry 'bout all this..."

"Stop talking like this is the end!" Cloud roared at him.

Barret nodded. "Alright, then. Later." He gripped Tifa securely by the shoulders and pulled her back as a massive explosion literally _warped_ what remained of the walkway. The shockwave, combined with the metal twisting in their hands, made Cloud and Harry lose their grip and fall. The pair then proceeded to plummet to the slums below.

* * *

"HARRY!" Everyone cried as they watched the Defeater-Of-Lord-Voldemort fall from the walkway.

"This is not good. This is so not good," Hermione whimpered.

Ron didn't seem to be especially concerned. "Well, he's fallen that far before and wasn't hurt. He was only knocked out for an hour or so."

"He wasn't hurt because Dumbledore used _Arresto Momentum_ to slow his fall, Ron!" Ginny swatted him in the back of the head. "In there, there's no Dumbledore! And he doesn't have his wand to do it himself, either!"

Ron rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Er...right. I knew that."

* * *

Harry: Ron's smarter than that.

Nah. If he were _that_ smart, he would have known to ask McGonagall what could happen when he cast that Transfiguration spell he used on Muggle technology.

Sirius: I like Ron, Harry, I really do, but Cor's got a point. If Ron had thought to ask that question, than your being pulled into the game itself could have been avoided.

Harry: *sighs in defeat* Alright, alright, already. I give up. There's no argument I can come up with that will convince Ron really is intelligent at least part of the time.

Part of the time? That I _can_ believe. Then again, even the most ignorant and stupid of people can have a moment of brilliance, just as the most knowledgeable and wisest of sages can make a stupid decision.

Sirius: When did this become a lecture on philosophy?

It didn't; I'm just saying, is all...

By the way, thanks to Articuno13 for correcting my Dutch!


	8. Rumble in the Church

Disclaimer: Eu n'e3o possuo o Potter ou o Final Fantasy de Harry.

Harry: Is that Spanish?

Close. It's actually a dialect of Portuguese. It's Brazilian.

Sirius: Hehe.

Harry: shiver That was creepy, Sirius. What's wrong with you now?

Sirius: There isn't anything wrong with me, Harry. Why ever would you think that?

That _was_ a creepy laugh, Sirius. Could have almost passed for Snape, that.

Sirius: shudders Snivellus! It's been a long time since I pranked him. Where's Moony? He points at Harry You can stand in for Prongs, even if you can't transform into a stag. Cor, you can be the fourth person.

You mean, I can stand in for Wormtail?

Sirius: blanches Well, no...I know you're better than that rat.

True dat. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Siri.

Sirius: Now to find Moony. He's brilliant at laying out plans. Heads for the fireplace to floo-call Remus

Harry: Would this be a good point to run away, Cor?

Probably. Cor and Harry flee.

Sirius: turns to ask where the floo powder is Hey! Where are you going? GUYS! Chases after them.

* * *

The screen was completely black, save for where some words appeared. "I don't get it," Ginny said. "We want to see if Harry's okay; why is it showing us Cloud's thoughts?"

"Cloud must be the lead character," Hermione reasoned. "Therefore, most of the story will revolve around him."

"Are all stories like that?" Ron asked.

"Mostly," Remus replied. "Most plays do not, however, revolve around a single character, though. Shakespeare is particularly known for following the activities of several characters simultaneously."

"The picture's back!" Tonks called. "Harry...he's okay!"

"That's a relief," came several people, almost perfectly synchronized.

* * *

"Oh! He moved!" the pretty brunette said. Harry, somehow, miraculously managed to land without any major injury (though he was sure his back was bruised; it was already very stiff). Apparently, the roof of the church they were now in had broken his fall and, being in poor condition, collapsed under the impact. He and Cloud landed on a small flower garden. Cloud was still unconscious, but stirring.

"I really am sorry about dropping in on you like that, Miss," Harry apologized once more.

"Don't worry about it," she replied, smiling kindly at him. "It's not as though you could have helped it. That explosion up on the plate sounded pretty big."

Harry shrugged. "It really wasn't as big as it should have been. We had planned on bringing down the entire Reactor, but Shinra had disarmed _our_ bomb and blew up the walkway we were on as we attempted to escape." He paused for a moment. "At least, that's what I think. I'm not as good as drawing out logical conclusions at my friend Hermione is." He grinned. "If she heard me say that, she'd blush and stammer about 'more important things.'"

Harry was sure that Barret would not have summed up their mission to a complete stranger, but something about this girl seemed...off. Harry was by no means an expert despite the numerous encounters he'd had with intelligent creatures that were not even human; nor was he even completely sure, but she just didn't seem...completely human. She didn't come across as an evil or cruel person, but rather, as a kind and nurturing soul.

Cloud moaned again, stirring a bit more. The woman turned back to him. "Hello, hello?" The spiky-haired blonde moved a bit more. "Hello, hello!" the flower girl called again. Cloud finally opened his shining blue eyes and sat up. The girl stood up and stepped back to give him a bit of room.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Where are we?" Cloud questioned.

"This is a church in the Sector 5 slums," she answered. "You two suddenly fell on top of me. You really gave me quite a scare."

"I said I was sorry," Harry reminded her. "And you _did_ tell me not to worry about it."

"We came crashing down...?" Cloud looked confused for a moment before looking up at what used to be a one-piece roof. Way up, they could just barely make out a broken metal walkway and the orange glow of flames.

"You weren't out for very long, Cloud," Harry told him. "Maybe a few minutes or so."

"The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall," the girl observed. "You're lucky."

"I wouldn't call falling fifty meters to smash through the roof of an old church 'lucky,'" Harry quipped, smiling to remove the sarcasm. She _had_ helped them after they fell through her roof, after all.

"Flower bed...is this yours?" Cloud asked, gesturing to the flowers as he climbed to his feet. He dusted off his clothes. "Sorry about that."

The young woman smiled gently at him. "It's all right. The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place. They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar at all...But for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here." She glanced around at the walls of the old building. "I love it here."

The flower girl knelt down and began tending to a bruised-looking flower. "So, we meet again." When Cloud didn't answer, she looked up at him, somewhat sadly. "Don't you remember me?"

Cloud looked thoughtful before recognition crossed his face. "Yeah, I remember...you were selling flowers in the slums."

The girl clasped her hands, smiling a bright, million watt smile. "Oh, I'm so happy! Thanks for buying the flowers!"

Harry tilted his head at Cloud. "You? Bought flowers? I didn't see you give anyone at the bar any flowers."

"That's because you were in the basement when I gave them to Tifa, kid," Cloud rebuked.

"Say...do you have any Materia?" the girl suddenly cut in.

Cloud turned to her and nodded. "Yes, some. Nowadays, you can find Materia anywhere."

The girl nodded in agreement. "But mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing."

"...'good for nothing'?" Cloud repeated. "You probably just don't know how to use it."

"No, I do...it just doesn't do anything," she answered. "I feel safe just by having it. It was my mother's..."

Harry could relate to that. He always felt safe when he had his father's Invisibility Cloak with him, whether he was wearing it or not.

The girl looked skyward. "Say, I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it?"

"I don't mind," Harry replied. Cloud shrugged.

"Wait here. I've got to check on my flowers. It'll just be a minute," she grinned at them before straightening the bent stems of several flowers. "Oh!" She stood up again. "I nearly forgot. We don't know each other's names, do we?" She looked at Cloud and Harry. "My name is Aeris, the flower girl. Nice to meet you."

Harry went first. "I'm Harry, boy-hero of a civil war in my homeland and part-time Quidditch player. I'd like to play professionally someday, though."

"The name's Cloud," the spiky blonde next to him spoke up. "Me? I do a little bit of everything..."

"Oh...a jack-of-all-trades," Aeris mused.

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "I do whatever's needed." The flower girl began to giggle. "What's so funny? What are you laughing at?" Cloud demanded, indignant.

"Sorry, I just..." Aeris began, but Harry cut her off.

"We've got company..." Indeed, standing in the front of the church, just inside the double-doors, stood a man with dark red hair and a pair of shades on his forehead. He was dressed in a smart, very dark-blue suit. He stood, watching them.

"Oh, sorry," Aeris added. "Bad timing on my part..." Cloud began moving forward toward the figure in the doorway. "Cloud! Don't let it get to you!" Aeris called to him.

The mercenary looked back and shrugged casually. "Say, Cloud. Have you ever been a bodyguard?" Aeris asked. Cloud gave her an incredulous look (Harry wasn't far off, either). "You DO do everything, right?"

Cloud smoothed his hair. "Yeah, that's right."

"Then get me out of here. Take me home," Aeris requested.

"Ok, I'll do it...but it'll cost you," Cloud agreed.

"What about AV...your prior agreements, Cloud?" Harry asked.

"I can get back to them once this job is done," the merc replied.

"Well then, let's see...How about if I go out with you once?" Aeris offered. Cloud thought it over for a minute, then gave an affirmative nod.

_Hold up...Cloud just agreed to be this girl's bodyguard...for one date? I don't get it..._ Harry thought, perplexed. Cloud turned toward the person in the doorway.

"I don't know who you are, but..."

"You don't know me...?" the red-haired man asked, mocking.

Cloud's shoulders stiffened, then relaxed. "Oh yeah...I know you. That uniform..."

It was at this point that three Shinra guards rushed into the church and gathered into formation behind the red-haired man. "Hey, sis, this one's a little weird," one of them sneered.

"Shut up! You Shinra spy!" Cloud growled.

"Reno! Want him taken out?" another guard asked, addressing the red-haired spy.

"I haven't decided yet," came the reply.

"Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers!" Aeris protested, dragging Harry and Cloud toward a door in the back of the church. "The exit is back there," she whispered to them. The three left through the door. Harry turned and closed it, briefly searching for some kind of lock before turning a small knob above the handle counter-clockwise.

"That should buy a few seconds," Harry reasoned. He turned and followed Cloud and Aeris. The sight before his eyes made him stop and wonder.

They were in a large, three-story room. However, what appeared to be a missile (Harry could clearly see the word 'Shinra' on the side) had fallen through the roof, crashing through it and all three floors before coming to a dead stop in the basement. This left the entirety of all three levels nearly demolished; only stable bits and pieces of the floors remained, tacked to the wall, and there were still holes in what remained.

"Come on! This way!" Cloud beckoned them. He hopped over a gap in the walkway to a set of stairs along the wall and climbed up them. Aeris followed, barely making it to the bottom of the stairs as well. Harry took a running leap; his foot came down half-on, half-off the platform, causing it to collapse under his weight. His momentum carried him forward, and he fell to safety on the bottom step, unhurt.

"There isn't any time to be fooling around, kid," Cloud admonished, snickering.

"Well, sorry I'm not as in great shape as you, Cloud," Harry shot back, standing up. "I've not been doing this sort of thing for very long, you know!"

"That," Cloud smirked, "is obvious."

_A Slytherin, he'd be._ The three of them arrived at the second floor and approached a gap. Cloud jumped across, but Aeris didn't follow him.

"There they are, over there!"

"They're here," Harry observed.

"Cloud...That one!" Aeris cried.

The purple-clad mercenary nodded. "I know...Looks like they aren't going to let us go."

"What should we do?" the flower girl asked.

"Well, we can't let them catch us, can they?" Harry replied. "Then, there's only one thing left." Harry jumped the gap, passing by Aeris and landing next to Cloud.

"Aeris! This way!" Cloud beckoned to her. The flower girl shook her head. "All right, I'll hold them off."

"Right. Make sure they don't get through!" Aeris nodded.

"The Ancient is getting away! Attack! Attack! Attack!" In response, the three blue-clad guards drew their rifles and began peppering the area around Aeris with gunfire. She fell to the ground to avoid the bullets, but the floor collapsed, sending Aeris tumbling down the length of the Shinra missile. She hit the basement floor and stood up, unhurt.

"Aeris!" Cloud and Harry cried out.

"Think we killed 'em? They shouldn't have put up a fight, I say!" Reno chuckled.

"Cloud! Help!" Aeris called.

"Damn!" the merc swore.

"What's that...?" Harry asked, pointing up to the rafters. There, perched on the intersections of support beams, were four big barrels.

"I see...Harry, help me push those barrels down on the Shinra!" Cloud ordered. Harry moved up to the rafters. "Aeris, just hold on!" He joined the wizard near the first barrel.

"If we drop this one, we should knock out that guard in front of Aeris," Harry reasoned.

"Okay. On three, then...one...two...three!" Both men pushed the barrel, toppling it over. They watched (from perches equally precarious to the barrels) as their makeshift cannonball fell, spinning, and landed squarely on one Shinra guard's head.

"Bull's eye!" Harry shouted.

"We're not done, yet!" Aeris was now at the bottom of a set of stairs, with the second guard at the top. "Push that one!" Harry complied, knocking over the barrel in the far corner. It landed behind the soldier as he ran toward the flower girl, who dodged away. Before the guard could turn and give chase, the barrel rolled down the steps and bowled over him. He was down for the count.

Aeris ran up the steps and jumped across to the next set. She was at the top when the final guard pointed his rifle at her. "Stop right there!" he ordered. Unfortunately for him, he didn't expect a barrel to drop from above, landing on the stairs in front of Aeris, and rolling down to knock him off into the basement.

"Thanks, Cloud, Harry," Aeris called up as she jumped another hole and climbed up to meet them in the rafters.

"Aeris, this way," Cloud beckoned, jumping up through the hole in the roof to the outside. Harry allowed Aeris to go first, smirking down at the fuming Reno, then escaped after them.

* * *

Harry: I have to admit, dropping barrels like that was a lot of fun. It's a lot like Donkey Kong.

Sirius: Hmph!

Harry: Jealous, Sirius?

Sirius:...No.

Yes you are. Look, I'll set up dummy targets that look like Snape and Pettigrew, and you can drop barrels on them from above. How does that sound?

Sirius:...

Harry: Oh, don't mind him.

I don't. Though sometimes it is difficult to do so.

Harry: True, dat.

Sirius: Oi!


	9. The Only Flower Garden in All of Midgar

Disclaimer: Ich bekenne mich nicht Verw'fcsten T'fpfer oder Endfantasie.

Sirius: That's German, isn't it?

Very good, Sirius. Have a cookie.

Sirius: Oooh! Cookie!

Harry: Just like a little kid...

Well, with a name like 'Sirius,' he has to be immature.

Harry: Say, am I ever going to get a Materia in this arc?

In this chapter, yeah. In fact, it will be one that fits your personality like a glove.

Harry: In that case, I'm not sure I really want it.

Well, it does reduce the damage you take from a physical attack. Sort of trade off for what it enables you to do, I guess.

Harry: And what is it?

That's the surprise.

* * *

"Ha, ha...They're looking for me again," Aeris laughed darkly.

"You mean it's not the first time they've been after you?" Harry asked incredulously.

"...No."

"They're the Turks," Cloud remarked.

"Hmmm..."

"The Turks...They're an organization in Shinra. They scout for possible candidates for SOLDIER," Cloud explained.

"This violently? I thought they were kidnapping someone," Aeris replied.

The spiky-haired blonde nodded. "They're also involved in a lot of dirty stuff on the side...Spying, murder...you know."

"They look like it," Harry agreed. "Say, why were they after you anyway, Aeris? There must be some reason, right?"

"No, not really," Aeris replied, not meeting their eyes. "I think they believe I have what it takes to be in SOLDIER!"

_She's lying. Or at least, not telling the complete truth,_ Harry thought; he didn't need his threadbare skills in Legilimency to figure this out. _She's hiding something...but what?_

Before Harry could press the issue, however, Cloud said, "Maybe you do. You want to join?"

"I don't know..." the flower girl admitted. "But I don't want to get caught by THOSE people!"

"Then, let's go!" Cloud urged, standing up. Harry and Aeris climbed to their feet and hopped along the tops of crumbled buildings after the purple-clad mercenary. Harry, being in better physical shape, kept up with Cloud fairly well. They had stop, because...

"Wait! Wait, I said!" Aeris, huffing and puffing, was several hops behind them. She carefully judged each gap before jumping them, and finally caught up a minute later. "Puff...wheeze...Slow...down...Don't leave me..."

"Funny," Cloud mused, smirking, "I thought you were cut out to be in SOLDIER?"

"Oh, you're terrible!" Aeris pouted, causing Harry and Cloud to laugh. It was a few minutes before they calmed down, at which time, the flower girl said, "Hey...Cloud. Were you ever in SOLDIER?"

Cloud thought it over for a moment. "I used to be. How did you guess?"

"Your eyes. They have a strange glow."

"That's the sign of those who have been infused with Mako. A sign of SOLDIER." Cloud looked at the flower girl carefully. "But, how did you know about that?"

"...Oh, nothing!" Aeris replied, cheerfully.

"Nothing...?" Harry mused.

"Right! Nothing! Come on! Let's go, bodyguard!"

The trio jumped across several rooftops before Cloud found a path down to the ground. A few minutes later, the three of them safely set foot upon a path comprised of loose dirt. "Phew!" Aeris panted. "Finally made it off! Now what..." She looked around, taking in her surroundings, before pulling Harry and Cloud forward. "My house is over here. Let's hurry before they get here!"

Harry found himself in a slum, not unlike the neighborhood around Tifa's bar. A huge television screen was mounted on a massive wall, and was set to some sort of twenty-four news programme. To his right, Harry noticed a Materia shop. To his left, he saw a weapon shop.

Aeris led them through the slums to a singular house behind it. A huge flower garden glowed green in the light of a magical-looking waterfall. "Whoa!" Harry gasped.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Aeris said sadly.

"What's wrong? This place is really nice," Harry observed.

"It's nothing. Just..." the flower girl trailed off, shaking her head. "Never mind. Come on in."

She opened the door and led them inside. She called out, "I'm home, Mom." A middle-aged, brown-haired woman came into the living room where they stood, clad in a green dress and a white apron. For her apparent age, Harry noted that she looked beautiful...in that dignified kind of way.

Aeris gestured toward Harry. "This is Harry, a friend I met today." She turned toward Cloud. "And this is Cloud, my bodyguard."

Aeris' mother, who was in the middle of introducing herself to Harry (her name was Elmyra) turned to her daughter in shock. "Bodyguard!? You mean you were followed again? Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?" Harry was vividly reminded of Mrs. Weasley, and how she fussed over all her kids (Harry and often Hermione were often included in this, much to their chagrined embarrassment).

"I'm all right, Mom," Aeris reassured the woman. "I had Cloud with me."

"Oh, so I don't even get a mention?" Harry protested, feigning grave insult. Aeris giggled at him.

Elmyra nodded. "Thank you, Cloud and Harry." She smiled at them, sadly, before turning and re-entering the kitchen.

Aeris turned to the boys. "So, what are you two going to do now?"

"Is Sector 7 far from here?" Harry asked. "I need to get back."

"I want to go to Tifa's bar," Cloud agreed.

Aeris leaned forward toward the spiky blonde, inquisitively. "If Tifa...a girl?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah."

"A girl...friend?"

"Girlfriend?" Cloud repeated, momentarily speechless. He shook head vigorously. "No way!"

The flower girl giggled. "Hee hee hee...You don't have to get THAT upset..." She stood straight again. "Well, that's...nice. Let's see...Sector 7? I'll show you the way."

Cloud immediately protested. "You gotta be kidding! Why do you want to put yourself in danger all over again?"

"It's no big deal. I'm used to it," Aeris replied, shrugging.

"'Used to it'?" Harry repeated.

"Well, I don't know..." Cloud mused, "getting help from a girl and all..."

_Bad move, Cloud,_ Harry had time to think before Aeris snapped at the mercenary, very nearly slapping the blonde in feministic fury.

"A girl! What do you mean by that!? You expect me to just sit by and listen, after hearing you say something like that!?" She turned around and stormed to the kitchen door. "Mom! I'm taking Cloud and Harry to Sector 7. I'll be back in a while." Satisfied, the flower girl stomped back over and glared at the blonde.

Elmyra looked in on them from the kitchen, an expression of worry on her face. "But dear..." she sighed, giving in. "I give up. You never listen once you've made up your mind. But if you must go, why don't you go tomorrow? It's getting late now," she reasoned, motioning toward the clock on the wall.

Aeris thought it over, nodding. "Yeah, you're right, Mom."

"Aeris, please go and make the bed," Elmyra requested. The flower girl did as she was told, climbing up the stairs along the back wall of the living room.

"That glow in your eyes...You're from SOLDIER, right?" Elmyra addressed Cloud.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Rather I used to be..."

"...I don't know how to say this, but...Would you please leave here, tonight? Without telling Aeris?" the woman asked. Cloud nodded, seeming to understand some unspoken reason that Harry didn't catch. He went upstairs to talk to Aeris, leaving Harry alone with the flower girl's mother.

"Er..." Harry wasn't sure how to frame his question. He eventually settled on being straightforward. "Why do you want us to leave without her? I mean, I don't want her to put herself in needless danger, either..."

Elmyra looked at him slowly. "You seem like a nice, innocent boy, Harry. I don't want to be the one to cause your innocence to wither."

Harry frowned. "I...don't think you have to worry about that. I've had a hard lot in life for a while."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay. I think I've got it all figured out now," Harry explained. "But if you really don't want to talk about it, I won't press you for it."

Aeris' mother sighed in relief. "I'd really not. Thank you for understanding, Harry." She looked up at him. "I'm afraid we'll be out of beds with Cloud here as well. Is the couch okay with you?"

Harry nodded. "It's fine. Better than some of the other things I've slept on. If you don't mind, though, I'd like to walk outside for a bit."

"Go right ahead, Harry."

Harry stepped outside and crossed the little wooden bridge. He carefully stepped through the long-stemmed flower, admiring the scenery. He stumbled, however, when his foot came down on something hard and round. Harry stooped down and picked it up.

"A Materia orb," Harry breathed. It was a dark purple, signifying it as an Independent Materia. Harry gripped the orb a bit more tightly to get a better look, but it flashed and knowledge came to his mind.

_Cover...a Materia that lets the user take a physical attack for a nearby ally. To help compensate for the extra damage, injury is reduced and the user's dexterity is increased slightly._

_Huh,_ Harry thought. He wasn't completely thrilled with the prospect of taking more attacks (he counted himself lucky not to have been seriously hurt so far), but the extra defense and dexterity made up for that. Harry recalled the words Cloud had said about his Counterattack Materia.

_"Independent Materia, like this Counterattack, enables a specific ability in the user. It's completely possible, with enough training and skill, to Counterattack without this Materia; it's just a lot easier to have it."_

Thinking objectively, Harry realized that there were times, when fighting Death Eaters, that he'd pushed Ron or Hermione out of the way of in coming spell they hadn't seen and taken it himself; they'd done the same to him just as often. On the other hand, spells were more easily reversible than getting stabbed in the stomach with a sword or shot in the arm with a gun.

Harry shrugged. Perhaps, with the extra agility, he could Cover someone and dodge the attack at the same time. He brought up his right hand and, gripping the orb with his left, pushed it into the first slot.

Harry immediately noticed that his movements felt a little more fluid; while he wasn't as graceful as, say, a cat or a lithe athlete, he wasn't clumsy, either. He also felt a bit more...protected, for lack of a better word. As though someone trying to stab him with a knife wouldn't score quite as deep with the blade as normal.

Harry looked at the orb set into the slot on his glove. It twinkled innocently, yet Harry could feel a soft gentleness coming from it all the same time. Looking closely, Harry also noticed that the slot he'd pushed the Cover Materia into had lines that connected it to the next one over. _Are these slots...linked together?_

Resolving to ask Cloud about it later, Harry headed back toward the house, satisfied with his find. When he entered, he found the couch piled with blankets and pillows. Shrugged, Harry laid Gryffindor's Sword on the floor before the couch, slid the edge underneath the couch so no one (including himself) would step on it and hurt themselves, removed his trainers and slid underneath the covers. He fell asleep shortly afterward.

* * *

"The screen's black again! And that creepy music is playing!" Ron grumbled.

"That just means everyone in the game is sleeping, Ron," Hermione sighed. By some miraculous stroke of luck, Ron didn't charm the cases of the games, and the booklets inside them were preserved. She and Ginny were currently looking through the one marked 'Final Fantasy VII' while Tonks was skimming through the booklet for 'Final Fantasy VIII.'

"I still don't see how those people can call thirty seconds a 'full night's sleep,'" Ron shot back.

"Ron, it may only be thirty seconds to us, but to them, it's at least a full eight hours," Ginny said.

Hermione's head shot up. "Wait, does that mean that Harry will age in there?"

"It's possible," Remus mused. "It's also possible that when he gets back, he'll be as old as he would be had he lived here for all the hours he spends in there. It's just _as_ possible that, when he gets back, he'll be the same age as when he left."

"That's too many possibilities, Remus," Tonks teased. "You're also being awfully optimistic. That's not like you."

Remus shrugged. "Well, you do rub off on people, Nymphadora."

When Tonks didn't snipe at Remus, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all looked at her oddly. "What?" she asked. "I know I've always told people to not call me that, but Remus makes sound...dignified, somehow." Remus snorted. "'Course, he's the only one who can get away with it," the Metamorphmagus added with an evil eye toward the others.

* * *

Sirius: You were right, Cor. That 'Cover' Materia fits Harry.

Like a glove, I tell you.

Harry: Oi! You'd take attacks for those you love too, and you know it!

If I could, yeah. I'm not gonna say I'll always be able to, but I'd like to think that I could. Besides, there are some things you shouldn't shield your children from, because if you do, you're over-protecting them, which means they won't have the best skills to use in coping with disappointment and hostility. Some things you have to learn through suffering through the situations in which those things are best suited for.

Sirius: Did you learn that in a self-help book or something?

No, it's actually something I thought about myself several months ago. I think I still have the nice little essay I whipped up about it on my computer here, somewhere.


	10. Attack of the Killer Demon House Thing

Huh...

Harry: What is it?

I can't decide which language to do the disclaimer in.

Sirius: Why not say it in Greek or Japanese?

Because I can't get the disclaimer translated into those languages using the Roman alphabet - which comprises most Western languages, including English, Spanish, French, Latin, Portuguese, German, Russian, and Dutch.

Sirius: Oh.

Yeah. _Oh._

Harry: Fine, I'll do it. CorstrikeFX does not own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy. If, for some asinine reason you believe he does, look up the copyrights. You'll see 'J.K. Rowling' for Harry Potter and 'Square-Enix' for Final Fantasy.

Wow. Gee, thanks, Harry.

Harry: No prob.

Sirius: Harry, I'm starting to think you're hanging around Cor too much.

Hey, I don't say 'No prob.' I'm more likely to say 'Sure' or 'You're welcome,' or even 'Pas difficule.' Which is French.

Sirius: For 'No problem.' Or, literally, 'No difficulty.'

Oh, go sniff a dog's butt, Padfoot!

Sirius: I resent that remark.

* * *

Harry awoke to the soft padding of Cloud's boots. "Leaving without me, are you?"

"Hadn't planned on it. You _are_ a part of AVALANCHE," Cloud explained. "Might as well bring you back with me." He looked at Harry carefully. "Light sleeper? I was pretty quiet."

Harry shrugged. "I figured you might try to leave early, so I didn't sleep _too_ deeply."

"That can be done?" Cloud asked, surprised.

"With enough practice," Harry replied, getting up and slipping into his trainers. He pulled Gryffindor's Sword out from under the couch and slid it back into his robes before following Cloud out the door.

"Sector 7's past Sector 6," Cloud declared. "We should be all right."

They were in the slum proper when Harry remembered his resolution. "Cloud, the first two slots on my gauntlet have lines connecting each other. Does that mean something?"

"It does," Cloud replied. "The lines indicate that those slots are linked. With two compatible Materia, you can create secondary effects. This can only be done with blue Support Materia, as far as I know. The most basic combination is a Magic Materia with an 'All' Materia, which lets you cast the magic from your Materia on all available targets. Another kind of Support Materia is 'Added Effect,' which can add status effects to your offense or defense. Using a 'Poison' Materia, for example, with 'Added Effect' on your weapon, you have a chance to inflict Poison on your enemy when you attack with your sword." Cloud turned and looked at Harry. "You can't do that, because your sword doesn't have Materia slots. Some weapons don't have any, but they usually come with some enchantment or special ability to make up for that." They resumed walking toward the path to Sector 6. "Alternatively, if you inserted 'Poison' with 'Added Effect' on your gauntlet, you'll be immune to Poison status."

"Okay, I understand," Harry nodded. "But what's a status effect?"

"You really don't know anything about how things work around here, do you?" Cloud snapped.

"Nup. I'm not from around here, remember?" Harry reminded him.

"How do your people fight off monsters in your homeland?" Cloud asked.

Harry was only slightly caught off-guard by that question. "Well...there aren't any creatures that you would really call monsters where I'm from. But we do have numerous creatures that are very dangerous, too. Like dragons."

"We encounter dragons here, though I'll bet they're a different kind of dragon...like your basilisk is different from ours," Cloud reasoned.

"Probably. Our dragons can get huge," Harry agreed. "I had to take an artificial egg from the nest of a clutching mother dragon, once. I only got a cut on the shoulder where its spiked tail caught me."

"That's pretty - Aeris!?"

Lo and behold, there stood Aeris before the door that guarded access to Sector 6. Her hands were on her hips and she looked distinctly cross. "You're up bright and early."

"How could I ask you to go along when I knew it would be dangerous?" Cloud asked her.

"Are you done?" Aeris snapped. Cloud nervously smoothed his hair. "You have to go through the slum in Sector 6 to get to Tifa's 7th Heaven. I'll take you there. Come on!" The flower girl turned, opened the door with surprising ease, then ran through. Harry and Cloud quickly followed her.

The path before them was, pretty much, a demolished highway. The road was cracked and uneven, and littered with holes. A rusting, broken crane served as a ramp to higher ground where, Harry could see, stood the entrance to Sector 6 at the other end of the road.

They didn't get very far before what looked like a house accosted them. "We're being attacked...by a _house!?_" Harry stood, gaping. Cloud pulled his broadsword from his back; Aeris gripped a small stick that, with the click of a small button, lengthened into a sturdy staff.

"That's no house, kid," Cloud warned. "It's a monster house. I forget the name of the demon that possesses it, though."

"Demon...right..." Harry confirmed, pulling out Gryffindor's Sword.

The house sat there, innocent looking, until a rocket flew out from behind it and launched toward the trio. Harry and Aeris dived one way; Cloud dove the other. The missile flew by harmlessly, crashing into the wall behind them with a small explosion that merely left a scorch mark on the already charred concrete. Cloud dashed in and hacked at the wooden paneling with his sword, creating a gaping hole in its side. A roar of pain rose from within as the spiky blonde mercenary danced back, avoiding a counter swipe.

Aeris focused, causing her staff to float perfectly horizontal at her waist, as she was surrounded with green energy. Then, pushing her hands out, a burst of fire erupted around the house, causing further damage. "Fire Materia?" Harry asked.

"Don't leave home without it!" Aeris grinned. Harry dashed in to attack, but the house recovered quickly enough and, with a big explosion that caught them by surprise, suddenly sprouted arms, legs, and a head.

"That's one way to get a-_head_," Harry muttered. He didn't laugh, though, for the explosion had thrown him back into the wall, and he was sure he was going to be sporting a nice big bruise in a couple of hours.

"You alright, kid?" Cloud called from the other side of the house-monster.

"I'm not happy, but I'll live," Harry called back.

"Here..." Aeris handed him a small vial of Potion, which Harry quickly swallowed. His back immediately felt better, not sore at all.

"Thanks, Aeris!"

"Anytime!"

Wary of another explosion, Harry came in slowly, sword held out in front. As Cloud stabbed the house demon from the front, Harry dove forward and struck, slicing through the demon's back two legs. There was a hiss of steam as the blade cut clean through the thighs just above the kneecaps (or the demon's equivalent thereof) and the monster shrieked like a banshee. Harry stepped back, gazing at his sword.

"It must be extra effective against demons and undead monsters, Harry," Aeris told him, "to have done that."

"I guess. Maybe that's a special ability that Cloud mentioned, since it doesn't have any Materia slots," Harry concluded. The aforementioned merc took advantage of the house's misery and split the demon's head in two. The monster flashed red and faded from view, leaving behind a few Potions, quite a bit of gil, and what looked like Muggle grenades.

"Not bad, kid," Cloud remarked, replacing his huge sword to his back.

"Thanks, Cloud. I just got lucky," Harry replied. He scowled. "I'm always lucky."

"Luck isn't a bad thing to have, kid," the merc responded as Harry tucked Gryffindor's Sword into his robes. "Don't be afraid to rely on luck when you don't have anything else."

Harry recalled using Felix Felicis in his sixth year at Hogwarts, and remembered how good a feeling being lucky was. "Maybe..."

"Let's keep going. We don't need to be attacked by anything else," Cloud nodded. "Let's mosey."

Harry blinked, and Aeris started giggling. "What?" Cloud asked.

"'Let's mosey?' C'mon, Cloud, a toddler can come up with a cooler way to say 'let's go' than that!" Harry mocked, laughing.

"Let's see you come up with one, then!" Cloud huffed.

"Alright." Harry turned to them, nodded, and then pointed at the far door. "Move out!"

"Hmph. Cliche, that one," Cloud muttered. Nonetheless, the three of them started walking again, only having to stop twice to fight off a swarm of silver insects that looked like vastly overgrown lice to Harry. They eventually made it to through the passage without harm.

"The gate to Sector 7's in there," Aeris declared as they stood before the gate to a small, broken down playground.

"Thanks," Cloud nodded to her. "I guess this is goodbye. You gonna be all right going home?"

"'Oh no! Whatever will I do!?'...isn't that what you want me to say?" Aeris teased him.

"We can take you back, Aeris," Harry offered.

"Isn't that a little out of the way?" she grinned.

"I guess so..."

"Or we could take you to Sector 7 with us," Cloud mused.

"I could do that...but won't I be in your way?" Aeris turned back to tease the mercenary some more.

"What do you mean 'in the way'?"

"Nothing!" Aeris grinned, turning around. "Can we take a break, Cloud?"

The question came so suddenly that Cloud and Harry stopped short. The flower girl walked up to a large children's slide that resembled some sort of mouse-cat combination. "I can't believe it's still here," Aeris breathed. She quickly ran around back and reappeared a second later on top of the slide. "Cloud! Get over here!"

"I guess she really likes you, Cloud," Harry grinned.

"Shut it, kid." Nevertheless, Cloud joined Aeris atop the slide. When the spiky blonde could see Harry again, Harry made a 'whipped' motion with his hands, smirking, and sat down on the single remaining swing on a nearby swing set. Cloud gave him the finger behind Aeris' back.

"What rank were you?" Aeris asked Cloud.

"Rank?"

"You know, in SOLDIER."

"Oh, I was...First Class."

"Just the same as him."

"Same as who?" Harry asked.

"My first boyfriend," the flower girl answered.

"You were...serious?" Cloud asked casually.

Aeris shook her head. "No. But I liked him for a while."

"I probably knew him," Cloud remarked. "What was his name?"

"It doesn't really matter," Aeris answered, shaking her head again.

The sound of a massive gate opening sprang up behind them. They looked, and found the gates to Sector 7 (Harry hadn't noticed before, but they really were _huge_!) pulled themselves apart to admit passage to a cart drawn by a big yellow bird. As the cart turned to go into Sector 6, Harry saw a familiar-looking woman in a sparkling blue dress in the back of the carriage.

"Huh? Back there...?" Cloud stood up and jumped down to the ground. Harry stood beside him. "Tifa!?" The gate closes.

"Tifa!?" Harry repeated.

"The girl in the cart was Tifa?" Aeris asked. "Where was she going? She looked kind of odd..." She hopped down beside them and gave chase.

"Wait! We'll go on!" Cloud called to her. "You go home!" But too late, Aeris had already disappeared down the path after the carriage.

As Harry and Cloud ran after her, Harry couldn't help cracking, "Women: Can't live with them, can't live without 'em. Right, Cloud?"

"Unfortunately," Cloud agreed, smirking.

* * *

Perhaps it was a good thing that only Remus, Ron, and Shacklebolt were watching the television when Harry and the character named 'Cloud' chased after the little girl in the pink dress. If any of the girls had seen Harry's comment, there would likely have been holy hell raised in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place that afternoon.

"You know, I couldn't help but notice that the graphics on the television are much better than these pictures on the case, Tonks," Hermione remarked.

"Yeah, I noticed it, too," Ginny agreed.

"I don't know much about Muggle technology," Tonks replied, "but perhaps Ron's spell casting had something to do with it?"

"Probably," Hermione agreed.

"Frankly, I'm still surprised he managed it without someone coaching him in person," Ginny giggled.

* * *

Phew. That's ten chapters down, and I-don't-know-how-many-more to go.

Sirius: What do you mean, you don't know how many more? You're the author of this story!

True, but that doesn't necessarily mean I can give an estimate on the number of chapters this will take. Besides, I've got four more arcs after this one, remember? I'm going to be busy typing for months!

Harry: But you like typing.

Yeah. But I still have to go to work, and class. And pay off my car. And hang out with my friends.

Harry: And play your video games?

And play my video games.


	11. Miss Cloud and Miss Harriet

Disclaimer: Jag äger inte den Harry keramikern eller finalfantasi.

Harry: tilts head What's that?

It's Swedish.

Sirius: So, what happens in this chapter?

Unholy grin

Harry: gulps I'm not going to like this, am I?

No, probably not. Just remember, it's all for a good cause.

Sirius: What? What?

Whispers in Sirius' ear

Sirius: howls in laughter I love it!

Harry: pales This is bad. Very, very bad.

For us, no, it's not. But for you...yeah, it probably is.

* * *

Wall Market. That's what the sign hanging on the archway in front of Harry said. For being a slum, Harry noted, there sure were a lot of people bustling around. 

Aeris turned around and stepped up to them. "This place is scary in a lot ways. Especially for a girl. So we've got to find Tifa fast."

"Frankly, I'd be more worried about ourselves," Harry muttered.

"Let's look around," Cloud suggested. "Ask a few key questions."

The three of them started walking around, asking about...well...girls (Aeris received some strange looks, outside the leers she was already receiving). They were told to check the Honey Bee Inn, which was just off the entrance to Wall Market. They made their way there, and found the so-called 'Honey Bee Inn.'

"It's kinda hard to miss with that glowing neon sign," Harry remarked, not quite under his breath. Aeris giggled and nodded.

"Welcome!" a hotel clerk-person greeted them in a loud, booming voice. "Even unpopular dweebs, like you may meet your destiny here!! You looking for a girlfriend, too?"

"You know a girl named Tifa?" Cloud asked.

"Hey, you're pretty fast. Tifa's our newest girl," the man nodded. "But, she's having an interview right now. Here at the Honey Bee Inn, it's customary for all the new girls to be taken to Don Corneo's mansion. Don Corneo's a famous dilettante. Now he wants to settle down and is in the market for a bride."

Harry's expression turned sour. "Listen, kid, the Honey Bee Inn is a private club. Only members can go in. Shoo, shoo," the manager waved them off.

They began to leave. "Okay, so Tifa's at Don Corneo's place right now?" Aeris confirmed.

"Looks that way," Harry nodded. "I think I heard someone mention that Don Corneo resided at the end of Wall Market."

"Alright, then that's where we're going."

Once they arrived at the manor of Don Corneo, it was easy to see who obviously lived there. The name 'Don Corneo' was all over the place. They were about to step through the front doors, but a door man halted them. "This is the mansion of Don Corneo," he stated.

"Really?" Harry asked, sarcasm influencing his tone. "I thought it the hovel of a bloke named 'Tom Riddle.'"

"Look, kid, I'm required to say this, so don't interrupt me!" the doorman snapped. He took a breath and tried again. "This is the mansion of Don Corneo, the most powerful man in Wall Market." He then realized he was talking to a pair of guys. "Look, the Don's not into men. So don't let me catch you around here again..." He trailed off as he saw Aeris. "Hey! You've gotten another cute one with you!"

The flower girl pulled them back. "Hey, this looks like the Don's mansion. I'll go take a look. I'll tell Tifa about you," she whispered.

"No! You can't!" Cloud protested.

"Why not?"

"You DO know what kind of...place...this is, don't you?" the spiky blonde asked.

"Then what do you want me to do? You want to go in with me?"

Cloud crossed his arms. "Well, being a man, that'll be pretty hard."

"And if we bust in there, it'll cause too much commotion," Harry remarked.

Harry could barely hear Aeris giggling over Cloud's hushed speech. "But, we can't let Aeris go in there alone. Oh man...First, we need to find out if Tifa's alright..." He finally noticed the flower girl's hysterical giggling. "What's so funny, Aeris!?"

"Cloud, why don't you two dress up like girls? It's the only way."

"WHAT!?" Cloud and Harry both shrieked in protest, their voices going unnaturally high.

Aeris ignored them and turned to the doorman. "Just wait, I have a couple of friends I want to bring."

"Aeris!" Harry hissed.

"I can't..." Cloud protested, but Aeris cut him off.

"You ARE worried about Tifa, aren't you? Then come on, hurry!"

"Aeris, you are completely off your rocker," Harry grumbled as she pulled them (rather forcefully) toward a clothes shop they had seen on their way to the mansion.

Cloud was in agreement. "This is either brilliance...or madness!"

"You'd be surprised how often those two traits coincide," Aeris quipped as they stepped inside. She turned to the clerk behind the counter. "Excuse me! I'd like to get a couple of dresses!"

"Umm..." the clerk replied hesitantly, clearly uncomfortable. "It might take a little time. Will that be alright?"

"What's the problem?" Aeris asked.

"Well, my father, the owner, has been in a slump lately. You see, he makes all the dresses," the boy answered.

"And, where is your father?" the flower girl questioned.

The lad shook his head sadly. "He's probably plastered at the bar."

"So...you're saying we can't get a dress unless we do something about your father?" Aeris asked.

"Tough luck, that," Harry muttered. The flower girl elbowed him to be quiet.

"Yes, I'm sorry. He's caused so much trouble..." the clerk gasped as realization hit him. "You'd help me bring him back?"

"Well, if we don't do something, we don't get dresses, right?"

"Really? Please help my crazy old dad. I just don't know what to do anymore," the clerk pleaded, looking defeated.

"Alright, we'll do something. Let's go, you two..." Aeris led them away from the shop and to the pub next door. Sitting there at the bar was an older man that bore significant resemblance to the clerk at the clothes shop.

Aeris walked right up to him. "Excuse us, but are you the father of the boy at the clothes shop?"

"I own the clothes shop," he replied, "but I ain't your father."

"I didn't say that," the flower girl protested.

"Make us some clothes," Cloud cut in, gesturing toward Harry and himself.

"Cloud!" Harry hissed, alarmed.

"Relax, kid. It's only a disguise."

"I don't make men's clothes. And I don't feel like makin' anything right now," the clothes shop owner replied haughtily.

"Cloud, Harry, you two wait over there for a second. I'll try to talk to him. Why don't you have a drink or something?" Aeris suggested.

"Come on, kid." Cloud pulled Harry away to a nearby table that was, with the level of background noise, out of earshot of the bar. "What'll you have?"

"Oh! Uh...what do they serve?" Harry asked.

"Beer, mostly. Ale, mead, spirits," Cloud replied, glancing at a menu that had been carelessly left on the table. "Water, of course, but it's probably not very good for you."

"And alcohol is good for you?" Harry quipped.

"Touche," Cloud conceded. "Hrm...you never said anything about your age."

"I'm nineteen."

"Is it legal for you to drink in your home at your age?" Cloud asked.

"I think so; people are considered adults at seventeen in London."

"All right then. Hey, barman! Bring us a couple o' beers!" Cloud called.

"Comin' right up!" came the reply. A minute later, a waitress came over and plunked two mugs of cold, frothy beer before them. Cloud gave her a small sum of gil, including the tip.

"Don't try to drink it too fast if this is your first time, kid. You'll get burned," Cloud warned before guzzling his beer. "Hmm...that's not bad."

Heeding the older man's warning, Harry took a long, slow draught. He swallowed, not particularly liking the taste. "Not bad...?" Harry repeated. "It kinda tastes like soda...without the soda."

"That's beer for ya, kid. It's an acquired taste," Cloud laughed.

By the time Harry (grimacingly) finished his beer, Aeris returned. "Okay, he'll make some dresses for you two."

"That's what I was afraid of," Harry groaned. He and Cloud stood up and followed the flower girl back to the clothes shop.

"Oh, you're here," the owner declared. "They're ready. Go ahead and try them on."

Despite his misgivings, Harry was impressed. "You made the dresses that quickly?"

The owner laughed. "I'm an old man, son. With the amount of experience I have, you learn some nifty shortcuts that don't skimp on the quality." He handed Cloud a purple dress made of silk, and gave Harry a dress colored a dark green ("To highlight your eyes, son,"), also made of silk.

Hesitantly and grimacing all the way, Harry stepped into the first booth while Cloud took the second. Harry turned and closed the shutters and removed his robes, jeans, and jumper. He slid the dress up, but couldn't seem to get it quite right.

"How...do you put this thing on?" he heard Cloud ask aloud. He then heard Cloud cry out in protest. "Hey! What are you doing!?"

Whatever Aeris did to Cloud, it seemed that she intended to do to Harry. Her head peek around the shutters, leaving Harry frantically pulling the dress to cover himself (and almost ripping it in the process). Eventually her head pulled back, allowing Harry to redress in his jeans and jumper in privacy. He pulled his robes back on and left the booth, the dress over one shoulder.

"It's still not right..." Aeris mused. "A wig! That's what you need, Cloud!"

"Umm, I thought you might, so I talked to my friend about getting one," the owner remarked. "You know the gym? You'll find a lot of people there like you. Go on and talk to them."

Cloud came out, back in his purple suit. "...'like you'? Aeris, what did you tell him?"

"Does it matter!?" Aeris shot back, indignant. "We got some pretty dresses!"

"To be honest, Cloud, I really don't want to know what Aeris told him," Harry whispered into the blonde's ear as they walked toward the gym (they left the dresses at the shop).

"You have a point, kid," Cloud agreed. The trio stepped inside and Aeris began talking to what appeared to be a man in women's clothing.

That man looked at Cloud and Harry. "Are you...the ones who want to be cute?"

"Cute?" Harry and Cloud repeated, looking affronted.

"Right," Aeris cut in. "And about the wig..."

"Yeah, I heard. But it'll cost ya," the cross-dresser remarked.

"Urggh!" One of the large men that were working out stopped his exercise and came over. "Big Bro!! The only way you're gonna get cuter is if you can beat Big Bro!!"

"That's right! You've got to compete with us!" one of the men doing squats in the ring to Harry's right called out.

"You're right," the transvestite nodded. "Let's do squats."

"All right! We'll beat you out of this gym!" the first man cheered.

"Shut yer trap and get over here!" the leader of the gym ordered. The first man came over, and Cloud stepped up. "Now, I'll explain the rules. Whoever has the most squats in thirty seconds gets the wig."

"Got it," Cloud nodded.

"Grr! I'm not going to lose! Big Bro's wig is MINE!" Cloud's squatting opponent growled.

"Just be quiet," 'Big Bro' snapped. He turned back to Cloud. "It's not fair for you to start right away. So, you want a practice round?"

"I don't need to practice," Cloud grunted.

"Now, let's begin the real thing! Start!"

Despite the man's probable-years at doing squats, Cloud beat the pants off him. After thirty seconds passed, the man had eighteen squats; Cloud had done somewhere over twenty-five.

"You're really something," 'Big Bro' told Cloud. "Okay, I'm a man of my word. Here you are." He handed Cloud a blonde wig with pigtails. The color of the wig matched almost exactly with Cloud's natural hair color.

"Don't worry, Harry," Aeris whispered as the man complained about losing, only to be slugged by 'Big Bro.' "I can manage something with your hair to make you look more...feminine."

Harry grinned sardonically. "Good luck with that. I haven't gotten my hair to do anything but grow all over the place ever since I was born." Harry was sure Aeris would not manage anything.

How very wrong he was.

* * *

In the dress shop, Aeris turned to them. "Aren't you going to change?" 

Cloud and Harry both sighed. "I guess I'm ready," Harry groaned. "As much as I don't want to. Can't I go as an escort or something?"

"You heard the doorman, Harry. The Don's not into men," Aeris admonished. She gently pushed him into the booth. Cloud took the next one.

This time, neither had any real problem getting into their respective dresses. And as much as Harry admitted to liking the feel of the material, he was not happy with being in a _woman's dress_. Fortunately, the dress completely covered his legs down to his feet, so he could keep his jeans on. His jumper, however, he had to take off and stuff into a pocket in his cloak. Gryffindor's Sword was in there as well, and he re-tied his cloak around his neck.

"Hmm, not bad," the owner mused. "This may be a new business for me."

"Yeah, you're right. Should we try it?" the clerk asked his father. He turned to Harry, Aeris, and Cloud. "Thanks for showing us something new. My father's got his motivation back now. So the dresses are on the house."

Aeris shook her head at Cloud and Harry. "Walk more nicely, Miss Cloud, Miss Harriet. Like this..." She proceeded to show them how to walk femininely.

"What do you mean, 'nicely'?" Cloud said through gritted teeth. He followed Aeris' lead.

"Oh, you're so cute, Miss Cloud!" the flower girl squealed, laughing. "Now, let's do something about your hair, Harriet." Aeris set Harry down and, pulling a comb and brush from somewhere (Harry could have sworn she'd conjured them) and began styling his hair.

This went on for several minutes, with all the patrons of the shop, the owner and his son, and Cloud all watching them, all the while Aeris was brushing, combing, and pulling his hair into shape. Harry became acutely familiar with how animals probably felt like in the zoo - providing they were capable of feeling and understanding such emotions, of course.

"There! Finished!" Aeris stepped back and moved Harry in front of a full-length mirror.

"Whoa." Harry looked radically different. His hair, normally a wild mess of bouncy tendrils of hair, was now pulled into a single, silky ponytail, the tip of which tickled Harry's shoulders as he moved his head back and forth.

"See? I can style anyone's hair," Aeris remarked smugly. "Aah...I want a dress, too." She turned to the shop owners. "Do you have one that will look good on me, too?"

The owner's son pulled a dress off the rack. "How's this?"

The owner pointed to another. "How about that one?"

"Father, what are you talking about? THIS one's much better!" the son tugged a third dress.

The owner shook his head and brandished a fourth dress. "No, what are you saying? This one."

Irritated, Aeris walked over to the dress rack and pulled out a long, red dress without any straps. "I want _this_ one!" She smirked at everyone's shocked silence as she stepped into the booth. She turned and looked at the owner, his son, Cloud, and Harry one by one. "I'm going to change. No peeking!" When she came out a couple of minutes later, Harry felt his jaw drop. "So? How do I look?" Harry saw Cloud shake his head. "Oh, you're no fun!"

* * *

Harry: That was a long chapter. 

Sirius: Says the boy wearing a green silk dress.

Harry: Shut up, Sirius!

But Miss Harriet, you look soooo cute!

Harry: pulls Gryffindor's Sword from his robe

Meep. Cor and Sirius run away

Harry: chases after them


	12. The Mansion of Don Corneo

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or Final Fantasy, though I do own all six books, the Final Fantasy games of 8 through 10-2, Chronicles, and Anthology, and a strategy guide for Final Fantasy 9.

Harry: I hate you, Cor.

Sirius: You know what I just realized?

Harry: Wow. Hope you didn't hurt yourself.

Sirius: Oi! thwaps Harry Anyway, I was thinking...

Sirius...thinking? Merlin, the world simply MUST be coming to an end!

Sirius: Shut it! ANYWAY! I noticed that Cor never mentioned Harry's glasses.

Oh, that? Well, Harry just had a magical corrective spell placed on his eyes before he brought Moldywart down, didn't he?

Harry: I did?

Yes, you did. Those glasses were a liability. Summon them away, and you'd be blind as a bat. Any other plot holes you want to mention, Padfoot? pulls out a katana.

Sirius: gulp No, I'm done.

Good boy.

Sirius: whimpers like a...well...like a dog

* * *

Harry, Cloud, and Aeris, all 'dolled up' as the owner of the clothes shop put it, approached the doorman to Don Corneo's mansion.

"Da-yum! Your friends're hot too! Come in, come in!" He turned toward the door and spoke into an intercom. "Three ladies coming through!" There was a small beep, and the doors opened. The doorman ushered them inside.

They now stood in a small lobby, with a receptionist waiting for them. "Hey, ladies," he greeted them. "I'll go and let the Don know you're here. Wait here. Don't go wandering around..."

"Like we'd really listen to that?" Harry mumbled to himself.

"Now's our chance. Let's find Tifa," Aeris suggested. Seeing no other doors on the ground floor, they climbed up to the balcony above and tried two locked doors before coming to an open one. Behind it was a _long_ stairway. They crept down and entered the room. Harry immediately wished they hadn't.

They now stood in what could only be described as a torture room. A table with the outline of a human body was in the middle, and directly above it, hanging from the ceiling, was a giant, circular saw blade. Tools and implements of torture rested in racks along the four walls, and in the back stood what seemed to be a large refrigerator. Harry thought it was big enough for even Barret to fit inside with room to spare. Tifa, still clad in a sparkling blue dress, was staring at it curiously.

"Tifa?" Aeris called. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aeris. Cloud and Harry told me about you."

"And you are?" the bartender and part-time AVALANCHE member snapped. "Hey, you're the one with Cloud in the park."

The flower girl nodded. "Right, with Cloud."

Tifa turned to look away, embarrassed. "Oh."

"Don't worry. We just met; it's nothing," Aeris reassured her.

"What do you mean, 'Don't worry'...about what?" Tifa demanded. She shook her head. "No, don't misunderstand. Cloud and I grew up together. Nothing more."

The mentioned mercenary was currently looking back up the stairs, staring into space. "Poor Cloud," Aeris teased, "having to stand here and listen to both of us call him nothing." She turned to the spiky blonde. "Right, Cloud?"

"His little ego is crushed for sure," Harry snickered.

Tifa jumped. "Harry? Cloud!?" Once she was over her shock at their appearance, she began firing questions left and right. "Why are you dressed like that!? And what are you doing here!? Forget that, what happened after your fall? Are you hurt!?"

Cloud turned to her. "Hey, give us a chance to explain!" he interrupted her. "We're dressed like this...because there was no other way to get in here."

"There would have been if I had had anything to say about it," Harry grumbled. The material was nice, but he was starting to sweat – he was wearing two layers of clothing inside a building, after all.

"We're all right, Tifa," Cloud continued explained, ignoring Harry's grumbling. "Aeris helped us out."

"Oh, Aeris did..."

"Tifa, explain. What are you doing in a place like this?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah, ummm..." Tifa hesitated, glancing pointedly at Aeris.

"Ahem! I'll just plug my ears..." Aeris cottoned on. She strode across the room and clapped her hands over her ears.

"I'm glad you're both OK," Tifa admitted quietly.

"Thanks. What happened?" Cloud pressed.

"When we got back from the Number 5 Reactor, there was this weird man," Tifa explained quickly. "So, Barret caught him and squeezed some information out of him."

"That's when the Don's name popped up," Cloud remarked. It wasn't a question.

"Right, Don Corneo," Tifa nodded. "Barret told me to leave the lech alone...but something's been bothering me."

"I get it," Harry said. "You came to get the story straight from Corneo's mouth?"

The bartender nodded. "So I made it here, but now I'm in a bind. Corneo...is looking for a bride. Everyday, he gets a few girls, chooses one of them, and then...well...Anyway, I have to be the girl...or I'm out for tonight."

"Sorry, but I overheard that last part," Aeris rejoined them. "If you know the girls, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"I guess so, but..."

"Well, we have four here, right?"

"No way, Aeris!" Cloud protested. "I can't let you get involved!"

"Oh, so it's all right for Tifa to be in danger?" the flower girl demanded.

"No, I don't want Tifa in..." Cloud began to defend himself, but was cut off by Tifa.

"Is it all right?" the bartender asked the flower girl. The four of them gathered near the bottom of the stairs.

"I grew up in the slums," Aeris explained, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "I'm used to danger." She looked at the bartender. "Do you trust me?"

Tifa nodded. "Yes. Thanks, Ms. Aeris."

The flower girl shook her head. "Call me Aeris."

They were interrupted by a voice calling down from the top of the stairs. "Heeeeeey!" They looked up to see the receptionist. "It's time, lades. The Don is waiting!" He turned around to leave, leading them back out to the lobby. "I told ya not to wander around...I tell ya, women nowadays..." He looked back at the quartet. "Hurry up, will ya!?"

"I probably don't need to ask, but..." Cloud began.

"The other girls are...us...right?" Harry finished.

"You're right, there was no need," Tifa began.

"...to ask," Aeris finished.

Harry shuddered. "That was creepy."

Harry's comment aside, the four of them climbed the stairs and reentered the lobby. They were immediately ushered into a very posh office. A fat, balding man in a red bathrobe with white trim (and a line of graying-blonde hair down the center of his head) was smoking a big cigar from behind his desk. Two tall, lanky lackeys stood to either side.

The black-skinned, blonde-haired lackey spoke. "All right, ladies! Line up in front of the Don!"

Tifa stood at the far left of the line. Then it was Harry, Cloud, and Aeris. "Hmm! Good, splendid!" Don Corneo's voice spoke. For some reason, Harry was reminded of burgundy by the sound of his voice. He and Cloud kept their faces down in an effort to further disguise their true gender. However, it seemed to have had the unintended effect of making them look more demure.

Corneo jumped over his desk and checked Aeris out in a rather lewd manner. She didn't fidget. "Now, let's see...Which girl should I choose?" the Don muttered to himself. He went to the opposite end and leered at Tifa. "Hmm-hmm!" He looked at Cloud next, who turned his face away when Corneo tried for a closer look. "This one...?" He peered at Harry next, who watched him from the corner of his eye. "Or this one...?"

Corneo never took his eyes off of Harry. He stepped back and cried, "Woo-hoo! I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is..." He paused, seemingly for dramatic effect, then went in for Harry. "This dark and mysterious girl!"

Everyone looked at Harry surprised, though none were as shocked as he was. _I think I'm gonna be sick,_ he thought. Out loud, he said, "Wha...wait a second! I mean...er...please wait!"

"Woo-hoo!" Corneo cried in glee. "I love chickies that play hard-to-get! Yeowza!" He turned to his flunkeys. "You can have the rest."

The lackeys saluted. "Yes sir! Thank you, sir!" Impatiently, Corneo tugged on Harry's arm. "Well then...shall we go, my pretty?"

As he was led away, Harry managed to glance back at Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris. _Help me!_ he tried to mouth to them, but then the door shut, blocking them from view. Harry suddenly found himself locked in a room with a man who obviously still believed him to be a girl, and looked ready to have his way, consensual or not.

* * *

Everyone had been laughing at Harry's misfortune through the entire scene. No one laughed, however, when they realized that Harry had, in fact, been chosen and taken into the bedroom behind the door.

"Oh, Merlin!" Ginny whined. "Corneo's not going to...is he?"

"He won't," Ron reassured her, though he was pale as well. "Harry's wouldn't let that happen."

"He's a strong lad," Remus agreed. Shacklebolt nodded.

"But still...if Corneo holds a gun to his head...there may not be much he can do about..." Hermione fussed.

"Come off it, 'Mione," Ron scoffed. "That bloke may be a sick, twisted, perverted prat, but he really wouldn't force anyone to actually _do_ anything with a gun at their head." He turned to back to the screen. He didn't say them, but everyone understood the unspoken question, _Would he?_

* * *

Harry: I really, really hate you, Cor.

Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, Harry.

Harry: seethes

Sirius: That was probably the absolute worst thing you could have said at that moment, Cor.

Probably. Runs away

Harry: chases after him, Gryffindor's Sword in hand

Sirius: laughing I _still_ find this scene uproariously funny.

Remus: gasps

Sirius: What is it, Moony? And how did you get here?

Remus: Merlin, Sirius! You actually used a big word! And in the correct context, too!

Sirius: grumbling Oi! Just because I don't swallow dictionaries in my spare time doesn't mean I'm not intelligent, Moony!

Remus: smirking You said it, not me.

Sirius: Remus! chases him


	13. Don Corneo Talks

Disclaimer: How should I do this time? Meh. I don't own HP or FF.

Harry: I hate your guts, Cor.

You'll get over it. It's...Whoops, almost gave away this chapter. Can't have that, now can we?

Sirius: It's what? I wanna know!

Then go read the chapter like a good little dog, Sirius. Oh, wait, good little dogs can't read, can they?

Harry: Padfoot can. But then, he's not a good little dog, either.

Sirius: whimpers Everyone's picking on me today...

And re do it because re ruv roo, Siwius! terrible Scooby-Doo impression

Harry: Cor, never, _ever_ do that again.

* * *

_If I ever decorate my room in my house anything at all like this, I'll have Ginny hex me into the next century,_ Harry thought. The bedroom reeked of pansy playboy-wanna-be. _Which, in retrospect, is exactly what Don Corneo is. A pansy playboy-wanna-be._

The walls, bed, and blanket were all a deep red. The sheets on the bed were pink with lacy white trim. An old jukebox in the corner of the room attempted to play some 'romantic' music, but it failed, sounding more like the ghost band that had played at Headless Nick's Five Hundredth Deathday Party back in Harry's second year.

"Ahh, we're finally alone..." Corneo declared in what Harry guessed was the man's best 'smooth operator' voice. "All right, pussycat...come to daddy!" Harry managed to subdue the grimace that made its way to his face, and slowly came over to the bed where Corneo crouched on his knees. "You're so cute, I never get tired of you. Do you like me, too?"

_I think I'm gonna be REALLY sick,_ Harry thought, his face paling. "Ummm..."

"You don't like me?" Don Corneo asked, pleadingly. "There's someone else, isn't there?"

_Another person that likes to twist words._ "No, only you," Harry said, successfully restraining the urge to grimace and spit. His teeth managed to grit themselves, though.

"You sure know how to make a guy feel good!" Corneo exclaimed.

_Maybe because I AM a guy?_ Harry thought snidely. _Merlin, he's thicker than Crabbe and Goyle put together! I'm not even attempting to disguise my voice!_

"Then wh-what do you want to do?" the Don stuttered.

Harry mentally sighed. _If it must be done, it must be done._ Unclenching his teeth, he said, "Whatever YOU want, 'daddy'."

Corneo missed the sneer on the word 'daddy.' "Oh man! I can't stand it! All right, then..." He hopped forward on the bed, like a frog. "Give me a kiss. A KISS!"

_No way in hell._ Outwardly, Harry said, "Nope, can't do that." He turned away, turning his back on Corneo.

Apparently, this had never happened to the Don before. "Why? WHY? WHY!?"

"Because..." Harry declared, whirling around and, with a great ripping sound, tore his dress in two and tugged Gryffindor's Sword free from the makeshift sheath he'd procured from the sleeve of an old jumper and a belt loop on his jeans. He held it pointed toward Corneo, who jumped back in shock. "Because you have information that we want, and you're going to give it to us!" Harry had to admit, he felt he had looked pretty cool, ripping the silk garment off and whipping out his blade in one smooth movement. His cloak, along with the shirt he had stuffed into a pocket earlier, now lay on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"A...BOY!?" Corneo shrieked. "You tricked me!! Somebody get in here NOW!!"

Tifa, Aeris, and Cloud broke in, smashing through the screen door. "Unfortunately for you, no one will be coming that is going to help you," Cloud boomed.

"You! You're the ones from before! What the hell's going on!?" Corneo cried.

"Shut up!" Tifa growled. "We're asking the questions now! What did your assistants find out! Talk! If you don't tell us..."

Harry caught the hint the bartender aimed at him. "I'll cut _them_ off," he threatened, lowering the point of his sword toward Corneo's groin. For emphasis, he placed his left foot on the bed, bringing the blade closer.

"No! Not that! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

"So...talk." This came from Aeris.

"...I made 'em find out where the man with the gun-arm was. But that's what I was ordered to do," Corneo spoke quickly, eyeing the shining sword in Harry's hand fearfully. _Like Pettigrew,_ Harry scowled.

"By who?" Tifa asked.

Corneo shook his head. "...No! If I tell you that, I'll be killed...!"

"Talk!" Tifa roared. "If you don't tell us..."

Cloud placed his foot on the bed, gripping the handle of his huge blade (Harry still wasn't sure how he managed to hide _that_) and pulled it forward enough so that Corneo could see the size of it. "I'll chop _them_ off."

"Waaaaaah!" Corneo cried. "It was Heidegger of Shinra! Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!"

"The head of Public Safety Maintenance?" Cloud repeated.

"Did you say the Shinra!?" Tifa questioned. "What are they up to!?" When Corneo didn't move to answer, the bartender spoke harshly. "Talk! If you don't tell us..."

Aeris stepped forward, drawing her staff and leveling it on Corneo. "I'll smash _them_."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Corneo gulped. "Ohboy, ohboy, ohboy...I'm not fooling around here either, you know. Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout. And they're going to crush them...literally. By breaking the support pillar holding up the plate above them."

Tifa and Aeris stepped back. "Break the support?" the bartender gasped.

"You know what's going to happen, don't you?" Corneo explained. "The plate'll go PING, and everything's gonna go BAMMMM! I heard their hideout's in the Sector 7 Slums...I'm just glad it's not here in Sector 6."

"They're going to wipe out the Sector 7 Slums!?" Tifa breathed. She turned to Cloud. "Cloud, will you come with me to Sector 7?"

"Of course, Tifa," Cloud nodded.

"I'll come to," Harry added. "I'm part of AVALANCHE, remember?" The quartet walked to the end of the bed, where Harry stooped and pulled his shirt and cloak back on.

He had just fastened his cloak when Corneo stood up suddenly, crying, "Just a second!"

"Shut up! We're finished with you!" Cloud roared.

"No wait, it'll only take a second!" Corneo pleaded. "How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?"

"Because they have nothing left to lose?" Harry answered.

"Buzzzz! Wrong!" Corneo crowed as he flipped a switch. The floor underneath the four of them disappeared suddenly, causing the quartet to fall. The last sight Harry had of Corneo was of the man dancing, doing some macabre version of an old American dance move called the 'Twist.'

* * *

"That little...!" Ron began, but couldn't seem to find the proper words to adequately express his feelings toward the perverted little bugger.

"If I ever get my hands on him..." Ginny growled, fingering her wand.

"Calm down, everyone. Look, it's the President of Shinra," Remus declared, gesturing toward the screen. Sure enough, the rotund man in the burgundy suit and a cigar in his mouth was speaking to a thin man with dark hair and a dark beard, and a fat bloke with a full brown beard and a horse laugh.

"How are the preparations going?" the President asked the horse-man.

"Ha ha ha!! Smoothly, very smoothly! I assigned the Turks to this," came the gravelly reply.

"President!" the thin man called. "Are we really going to do this? Simply destroy a group with only a few members..."

The President of Shinra got up and walked around his desk toward the man. "What's the problem, Reeve? You want out?"

Reeve shook his head. "No. But, as head of the Urban Development Department, I have been involved in the building and running of Midgar. That's why..."

"Reeve, you should flush those personal problems in the morning with the rest of your crap," the horse-man laughed.

"The Mayor's against this anyway," Reeve added.

The fat bloke shrugged. "Mayor? He just sits in his building all day feeding his face! You still call that a Mayor?" He turned to the President and saluted. "Now if you'll excuse me, sir!" He leaves, and Reeve is left fuming. President Shinra placed a fatherly hand on his shoulder.

"You're tired," Shinra remarked. "Why don't you take a couple of days off and go somewhere?" Reeve looked at the President for a moment, then nodded slowly and left.

"Wow," Hermione whispered at the screen. "The leader of a tyrannical government actually cares for the well-being of his followers?"

But the President wasn't done speaking. "We'll destroy Sector 7 and report that AVALANCHE did it. Then, we'll send in the rescue operation care of Shinra, Inc...Heh, heh, heh. This is perfect."

"Guess not, Hermione," Tonks countered. "If he did care, he wouldn't sacrifice so many lives in the slums for a group as small as AVALANCHE."

"Absolute power, corrupts absolutely," Shacklebolt muttered. Remus nodded in agreement.

* * *

Harry: sigh And here I thought you were actually going to make me snog that git.

Shudder Me? No. I'm not against well-written slash, but guy-on-guy relationships just aren't my cup of tea.

Sirius: You don't know how glad we are to hear you say that.

I've said it before, Sirius. You just weren't listening (as usual).

Sirius: Oi! At least I didn't bother Lily time and time again for the right answers to my homework!

Harry: Duh. You were too busy pranking her and Snape to bother trying to convince Mum to let you copy her work. Not that Hermione lets us _copy_ her work, either, but...

Meh. If you had, Lily would probably had hexed you something fierce anyway.

Sirius: laughs Yeah, she probably would have.


	14. The Train Graveyard

Disclaimer: For the last time, people, I do NOT own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy! So really, you have no legal basis on which to sue me!

Harry: Snappish much?

Let's see you deal with ignorant people who keep trying to use the court system to take your money.

Sirius: But no one's tried that.

It's only a matter of time. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!

Harry: rubs his ear Did you have to do that right in my ear, Cor?

Shrug Probably not, but it does make me feel better.

Sirius: I'll go run for Pomfrey for that bleeding ear then, eh, Harry?

Harry: Eh? I can't hear anything since SOMEONE BELLOWED INTO MY EAR!

Cripes! Geez, Harry, I'm sorry!

Harry: Pulls out Gryffindor's Sword

Meep! runs away

* * *

"It stinks down here." Those were the first words Harry uttered when he stood up after he, Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa fell down through the trap door in Corneo's bedroom.

"That would be because we've fallen into a sewer. With sewage," Cloud remarked dryly, pulling Harry to his feet. Tifa was helping Aeris up already. "You okay, kid?"

"Physically speaking? I'm fine. Whether my male pride will be okay remains to be seen," Harry said with wry grin.

Cloud sniggered. "He'll be fine," he told the girls.

"Well, the worst is over," Aeris sighed.

A loud rumbling began shaking the sewer. "Aeris, do me a favor, okay? _Never_ say 'the worst is over' again, alright? You'll just put a jinx on the whole thing," Harry joked.

The quartet had their weapons at the ready, and squeezed together in the cramped space. This made the stench seem worse because all four of them had been splashed with the sewer water when they fell in, so they were drenched in who-knows-what. Before them, a weird, misshapen creature approached them. It was color primarily a dull, scale green, and vaguely humanoid, despite its towering over them in height. Its long arms each had a three-fingered hand, and each hand ended with a big claw. It also sported a long tail with an odd knob on the end.

"That thing's UUUGALEE!" Harry quipped.

"Save the jokes for later," Cloud murmured, running forward and lunging with his big sword, almost severing the creature's leg at the kneecap. He came back, ducking away from the monster's retaliatory swipe. Tifa focused for a minute before unleashing a lightning bolt.

The bolt struck the creature, scoring extra damage because it was standing in sewage water. But then, so were Harry, Tifa, Cloud, and Aeris, but they didn't feel anything, like Harry expected them to. _Must be the magic,_ Harry thought.

Time seemed to slow down as the creature came forward and produced a long, ropy tongue. It slapped at Aeris with it, but Harry's Cover Materia flashed. Nobody saw him move (nor did Harry feel like he moved) but there he was, holding Gryffindor's Sword in a defensive position. The monster's tongue lashed over Harry's shoulders and back. Harry felt a strange burning sensation along the scores on his back as he stepped aside while the monster jumped back.

"Harry!"

_That sounded like Aeris..._ Harry thought. He felt..._slow._ Everything seemed to be moving quickly, now. Cloud and Tifa were moving faster than they were supposed to. The monster and Aeris both moved with extra speed; even the water flowing around his ankles felt faster than it had. _What's going on?_

"Healing wind!" Harry noticed the air looked green and blue cycloned around him. Everything resumed moving at normal speed. "You alright, Harry?" Aeris asked.

"I'm fine...what happened? Everything was moving so fast..."

"You've been hit with Slow," the flower girl explained. "Nobody was moving fast, Harry. You were just moving...well...slowly."

"Right. Thanks for the help, Aeris."

"You didn't have to take that hit for me, Harry," the flower girl smiled kindly at him. "Consider it payback."

"Alright." Harry turned back toward the beast, and scowled. "Would anyone mind if I get angry at this thing?"

"No one at all, Harry. Let it out."

Cloud dropped back. "This thing is tough!" he grunted. Despite the complaint, Harry saw a gleam in his eyes, alight with the prospect of a challenging opponent – or it could have just been the Mako Cloud was infused with.

The creature reared back and pounded his floor of the sewer with a bloody fist, causing the whole area to rumble. The resultant shockwave caused the sewage water to rise and up and buffet the quartet into a wall.

"Ugh," Cloud groaned.

"This is horrible!" Tifa complained.

"I'm going to smell for weeks!" Aeris agreed.

Harry looked up at the beast, his eyes (unbeknownst to him) glinting with power. "He's going down." Without thinking about it, Harry swung his sword rather a like how he would use his wand, and shouted the incantation, "_Reducto!_"

The spell shot from the tip of Gryffindor's Sword and crashed into the monster's upper torso. The curse immediately shred the creature apart, almost completely obliterating its head. The dead body rocked for a moment, then crashed to the ground at Harry's feet.

"That was incredible!" Aeris gasped. "Where did you learn that?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Actually, it's one of thousands of spells people from my homeland are capable of casting."

"Why haven't you used your magic before if everyone from your home can do it, kid?" Cloud asked.

Harry blinked. "I'm not sure; at home, everyone uses wands to focus their magic into their chosen spell. Though, under extreme stress or with lot of training and practice, one doesn't need a wand to cast spells. We generally refer to that as accidental magic when done by kids before they go to school, and wand less magic when intentionally cast by graduated members of our society."

"It still worked here. Perhaps it's your Limit Break?" Tifa wondered aloud.

It was Harry's turn to ask questions. "'Limit Break'?" he repeated. "What's that?"

Cloud took over explaining. "Basically, you just get really pissed off, which is usually from taking too much damage. It gives you a sort of energy boost, which is immediately used in a super-powerful move or attack." He looked as though he was recalling something. "You've seen me use mine before; the one where I jumped up and slammed my Buster Sword straight down, remember? When we fought that Air Buster in front of the No. 5 Reactor?" Harry nodded. "That was my Limit Break. Though people have more than one, they have to learn them by using the ones they have. Most people only reach the second tier, though, of the four that are said to exist. Everyone starts on the first tier, and by using the Breaks there and defeating enemies (almost always monsters), they eventually move up to the second and third tier."

"What about the fourth tier you mentioned?" Harry asked.

Cloud thought for a moment. "I'm not sure if the fourth level really exists; it's said to contain legendary moves that are completely devastating to those they are used on. Taking that as truth, then they can't be learned the normal way; you may need some kind of magical item, or a complete and thorough mastery of the Limit Breaks of the first three tiers first, or something."

"I understand." Harry stretched and tucked his sword into his cloak. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Yeah. If we don't hurry, Sector 7 will be crushed!" Tifa exclaimed. The quartet set off through the sewers, only wading into through the water flowing along the bottom when there wasn't any other choice. Harry also noticed a Yellow Materia orb glowing dully near a dead end of one of the passageways. He scooped it up and examined it.

"What's this one?" he wondered, half-aloud and half to himself.

"Hrm..." Aeris took a closer look. "It looks like a Steal Materia."

"Let's see it, then," Harry mused, gripping it a bit tighter. As before with the Cover material, it flashed and, as before, the knowledge of what it did came to his mind.

_Steal...an ability to steal items and gil from monsters and enemies. To help facilitate this, the user's dexterity is increased moderately. At first, only items can be stolen, but eventually, with experience, gil can be swiped as well. Physical damage can be dealt simultaneously with a Steal attempt at higher levels._

"Well?" Cloud asked.

"Aeris was right: This _is_ a Steal Materia. It's not as bright as your Materia, though. It's not even as bright as the Cover Materia I found in Aeris' flower garden," Harry announced, "and the Cover isn't very bright at all."

"They must be newly-born Materia, then," Cloud remarked. "New Materia have the dullest glint in them. As they are equipped, though, they respond to the experiences of the user and grow, getting brighter as it does so. When fully grown, or 'mastered,' as it is called, it is bright enough to be used as a beacon in dark areas (though they're rarely used for that). They also split into two; one stays as a fully-grown master Materia, while the other is a new-born without any experience whatsoever. But they are the same Materia, at least in terms of what they do."

Harry's head was spinning; all this lecturing on Limit Breaks and Materia (which was added to what he had been told before) was a lot to take in, and he said so. "I think it will sink in over the next couple of days, though."

"Probably," Tifa agreed. They began walking toward a ladder Aeris had seen at the other end. Harry slid the yellow Materia into the other slot on his gauntlet; the boost in that graceful feeling he had earlier was noticeably larger than the one from the Cover Materia. He could also feel the knowledge of thieving arts creep into his mind past his (rather rudimentary) Occlumency shields. He now knew how, exactly, to steal items from monsters, though logic reminded him that he couldn't possibly exceed every time, and that he may be leaving himself open to attack when making a Steal attempt. He privately wondered how monsters were capable of getting items anyway, and how they might carry them without such things as pockets or bags.

The dim glare of dull light posts brought Harry from his reverie; they now stood in what might as well been called a graveyard for train cars. Cloud turned to Aeris. "Aeris, I got you mixed up in all this..."

"Don't tell me to go home!" the flower girl cut him off.

Tifa looked around. "Let's see...If we can get past the trains that are lit up, we should be able to get out of here and reach Sector 7."

"Okay. Keep an eye out for ghosts and such; they don't call this place the Train Graveyard for nothing, you know," Cloud warned. They set off, climbing onto a broken, rusting train car and picking their way across. They hopped to a nearby one, and dropped down to the ground next to it, making their way north. They walked down the interior of a short series of train cars still connected, and came out facing something that was part-horse, part-chariot, and all-monster.

"Lovely," Cloud muttered. He jumped back to avoid a lunge and pulled out his sword. He ran in and struck, leaving a large gash in the horse's flank. Aeris glowed for a moment before she cast Fire. The flame spell wrapped around the demon-knight part for a second before disappearing, leaving scorch marks on its plate armor. Tifa focused and cast a spell, as well, throwing a small thunderbolt at the humanoid. The armor, comprised of metal, made an excellent conduit for the electricity, so naturally, the monster was greatly affected.

Harry glanced down at his gauntlet, looking at the yellow Materia. _Might as well try it out,_ he thought. His choice made, he ran in and thrust his empty left hand forward – and it phased through the horse's hide as he swiped, his hand clasping on something. He ducked back and found himself holding a small bottle labeled 'Hi-Potion.'

"Not bad, kid. That'll come in handy," Cloud remarked.

Harry pocketed the bottle for later use, and dodged away as the horse-knight creature lunged at him. Cloud took the opportunity to slash at the equine half of the beast, severing the left foreleg (well, left when looking at it from the front). Harry followed up and thrust Gryffindor's Sword forward. It shined brilliantly for a moment as it pierced the hide of the demon, and a sizzling sound was heard before Harry pulled free and jumped back.

"What was that?" Tifa asked, casting Thunder again.

"The special ability of my sword, I guess," Harry replied. "It seems extra effective against demons and such." He glanced at the bartender, then turned his attention back to the battle. "Here it comes again!"

Harry's warning came too late, though. Harry was brushed aside with the demon's lance (he landed on the hard a few feet away, hard) and could only watch as the lance left a large cut on Tifa's shoulder, who had tried to dance away. Harry supposed she was partly successful, since she would otherwise have been impaled through her heart. Tifa's eyes narrowed in anger as the blood began to ooze from the wound.

"Ha!" She glowed for a second, orange this time (casting magic caught her in a greenish glow) then dashed forward, striking the horse repeatedly with her fists and feet, ending with a back somersault kick that knocked the entire beast onto its side. Cloud leapt forward and hacked through the armor on the demon-knight, finishing it off. The monster flashed red and disappeared, leaving behind a pile of coins, a Potion, and what looked like a small, red grenade.

_I'm never making her angry again,_ Harry thought, tossing a spare Potion toward the bartender-slash-martial artist. Tifa nodded her thanks as she poured the medicinal liquid onto her shoulder, watching it heal completely (and without scarring) in a couple of seconds. Aeris divvied up the gil between the four of them (somehow the money had come out divisible by four, leaving each of them with exactly the same amount).

"We don't have too much further to go now," Tifa declared. She motioned toward what might as well have been a small mountain of train cars. "The town is just on the other side of that wreckage."

"Let's hurry. We don't know how long it'll take Shinra to destroy the pillar, and we'll probably need all the time we can get," Harry reasoned.

"You're right, kid. Let's hurry."

And hurry they did.

* * *

Sirius: So, are you going to write Yuffie into the story?

Yuffie: Yeah, are you? I mean, no one can resist my charm and wit!

Meh. Unlikely. I've already written a vast majority of the game; reworking it all just to bring Yuffie in would be a lot of extra work that I have neither the time nor the inclination to do.

Harry: Thank Merlin. Priscilla's bad enough to be around.

Priscilla: I resent that! But that's okay, I love you anyway, Harry!

Harry: Bugger. See what I mean?

Yuffie: scowl Stupid brat.

Priscilla: Old hag!

Yuffie: Who're you callin' old!?

Sirius: whispering to Cor and Harry Shall we leave?

Yes. Definitely.

Harry: I hope you won't lose too many readers from this.

Eh...


	15. Defending the Pillar

Disclaimer: The characters and environments in this fic do not belong to me. If you recognize it, it doesn't belong to me. Unless, of course, it's a cliché, in which case, it is free to use. I will, however, try avoid such cliches to the best of my ability. Wish me luck!

Harry: That's easily the longest disclaimer you've made yet.

Siriusly.

Sirius: Oi!

Heh-heh. Don't sweat it, Sirius. It's not like you haven't done that joke to death yourself, you know.

Sirius: That's different. I came up with the joke, so I can use it as often as I want.

Harry: Hmph. That's something _Sirius_ly illogical about that.

Well, Sirius _is_ _Sirius_ly lacking when it comes to common sense and all that.

Sirius: whimpers

Harry: It's _Sirius_ logic.

* * *

Hermione was scouring a book from the Black library. "Here we are," she said aloud. "'Gryffindor's sword is made from goblin steel, and imbues substances that increases its strength.'" she read. "That's probably why it's so effective against those undead creatures Harry keeps encountering in there."

"Not only that," Remus remarked, "but the basilisk venom is especially deadly to all reptiles."p 

"So it Harry runs into more snakes, his sword will likely stop them with one hit or so, right?" Ron reckoned.

"Probably," Hermione agreed.

"They've made it back to Sector 7, guys," Tonks observed. Everyone (par Shacklebolt, who seemed to be uninterested in watching) gathered around the couch.

* * *

"We made it! The pillar's still standing!" Tifa cried out.

"Wait!" Cloud cautioned. "Do you hear something?"

"Above us...?" Harry looked up.

"That's gun fire," Aeris said quietly.

Harry squinted his eyes. He could see several flashes (the guns firing, he reckoned) and, after a few seconds, someone seemed to tip over the railing and falls toward them. Harry recognized him as Wedge seconds before he hit the ground with a sickening _thwumpth_.

"Wedge!" Cloud cried, dashing over and kneeling at his side. "You all right?"

"Cloud...You remembered...my name..." the portly man breathed. "Barret's up top...help him...An' Cloud...Sorry...I wasn't...any help..."

Harry's face hardened. "I'm sorry, Wedge."

Cloud stood up. "I'm going up!" He looked at Aeris. "Aeris! You look after Wedge!"

The flower girl nodded as Tifa walked over to her. "Aeris, do me a favor. I have a bar called '7th Heaven' in this neighborhood. There's a little girl named Marlene there..."

Aeris nodded. "Don't worry. I'll get her somewhere safe."

"Thanks."

Harry turned to the gathered commoners. "It's dangerous here!" he shouted out in warning. "Everyone, get away from the pillar, quickly! Everyone get out of Sector 7!"

"Move it!" Cloud bellowed, stirring the people into action. They scattered, gathering up a few precious possessions and their families before heading toward the gate on the other side of the Train Graveyard. Harry, Cloud, and Tifa bolted toward the fence gate that guarded the stairs climbing the pillar. Cloud slashed at it once with his huge sword, and the rusted metal fell apart like so much glass. They began climbing the stairs two at a time.

They met Biggs sitting against the railing a few flights up, panting and trying to stem the flow of blood from a deep gash in his side. "Cloud..." he smirked. "So you don't care...what happens...to the...Planet?"

"You're wounded," Cloud remarked, ignoring the question.

"Hmph, so I am...Thanks, Cloud," Biggs answered. "...Don't worry about me...Barret's...fighting up there...Go help him..."

"Biggs..." Harry said.

"Go!"

"I..." Shaking his head, Harry turned and followed Tifa and Cloud up the stairs. They paused only once, fighting off a few Shinra bots that were capable of flying on helicopter blades on the end of their arms (a few Thunder's from Tifa and they were fried beyond recognition) when they next found Jesse. She, too, was wounded, but carrying several bullet holes in her torso as opposed to Biggs' large cut.

"Cloud...Harry...I'm glad...I could talk to you one last time..." she breathed, her life force fading.

It seemed that Cloud, too, saw that nothing could be done to save her. He decided to humor her, instead. "Is that so..." he said, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"...Is that so...?" Jesse laughed weakly. "Ha...cool...as usual...ex-SOLDIER...always...I like that...in you..."

Harry braved a smile for her. "Have fun in the next great adventure for me, Jesse, will you?"

She smiled at him. "I'll...work on it..." Her eyes closed a final time, and she breathed her last.

They spared a moment in silence for their fallen comrade. "Let's go. Barret may not last too much longer on his own," Cloud said after a second.

They hurried up that last flight of stairs and found Barret pinned down, but giving much better than he seemed to have received; indeed, he didn't appear to have been hit yet, but the fallen bodies of robots and Shinra guards both littered the walkway around them.

"Tifa! Cloud! Harry! Y'all came! Be careful, they're attacking from helicopters!" the leader of AVALANCHE warned.

"Here they come!" Tifa cried out, pointing. A helicopter flies past, seemingly impervious to Barret's gun fire. Harry looked around the walkway, seeing nothing that could help, but he did see a control panel.

He motioned it to Cloud. "Is that...?"

The mercenary nodded. "Yeah, I'll bet that's their objective." Harry nodded and stepped in front of it, raising Gryffindor's Sword up to ward off anyone that came his way.

A familiar red-haired man in a dark suit dropped from the helicopter onto the walkway in front of Harry. He smirked and took a step toward Harry, carefully avoiding bullets shot by Barret, and swung a cane at him. Harry ducked, hearing the sizzling crackle of electricity, and lunged forward with the blade in his hand. The Turk stepped aside, clocking Harry on the side of the head. Harry lay stunned for a second before getting up again, but by then, it was too late.

"You're too late. Once I push this button..." Reno sneered, lowering his finger. Cloud made a wild lunge, but was too late to do anything. With a small _beep,_ the bomb was activated.

"That's all, folks! Mission accomplished."

Tifa motioned to Cloud and Barret. "We have to disarm it! Cloud! Barret! Please!"

"I can't let you do that," the Turk shook his head. "No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks..."

"Egotistical much?" Harry taunted, acting much braver than he certainly felt. He jumped back, avoiding the red-head's sudden, precise lunge. Cloud charged in, hacking with his huge broadsword. Reno (Harry had glimpsed a badge as he rolled away) nimbly stepped aside, avoiding the blow...only to be caught by Tifa's left jab. Before he could recover, the bartender-slash-AVALANCHE member followed up with a blindingly fast snap kick.

Reno stumbled back, only to be caught in an ice spell, courtesy of Cloud. Harry made use of his Steal Materia once more, this time pulling back with a weird bracelet that sported several runes and five Materia slots, with four paired off into two pairs of linked slots.

Reno recovered his composure, despite his bloody nose. He smirked and growled, "Let's see you break through this." He waved his rod in a triangular fashion, firing an orb of red-white light at Barret. The large, bear-like man found himself encased in a translucent, gold-colored pyramid and was utterly unable to move.

Cloud glanced at Harry. "Go back and help Barret, kid. Tifa and I will handle the Turk."

"Right," Harry acknowledged, shrinking back and allowing the two full reign at Reno. Harry dug into his pockets and pulled out a Remedy. He poured the vial's contents on the pyramid, but the transparent cage remained unaffected. To his horror, Barret's eyes began to bulge from lack of air.

Harry had a sudden flash of inspiration, remembering Reno's taunt. _'Let's see you break through this...'_ Harry lifted Gryffindor's Sword up above his head, and brought it crashing down on the pyramid of light. The shimmering cage shattered like glass, and Barret dropped to his knees and breathed heavily, attempting to regain the air he had been unable to access inside. He shot Harry a grateful look. The Boy-Who-Lived nodded in return.

"It's about time..." A seriously wounded Reno panted. Harry caught a glimpse of a black eye and a bloody nose, in addition to what seemed to be several open cuts, before the Turk turned, ran, and leaped off the platform, only to be caught gently by a hovering helicopter below.

Tifa dashed toward the console and began tapping buttons. "Cloud! I don't know how to stop this! Try it!"

Cloud attached his sword to his back and examined the console. "It's not a normal time bomb," he grimaced. "I doubt even Jesse could disarm it, if she were here..."

"Once the plate starts coming down, it'll be too late," Harry remarked. "We have to hurry!" As soon as Harry finished speaking, a resounding boom knocked them to their knees. Chunks of flaming steel and concrete began falling to the ground below; a few sizable boulders crashed down onto the platform around them.

Barret dashed over to the railing and grabbed a hold of a wire. "Yo! We can use this wire to get out!" Tifa quickly climbed onto Barret's lap (his huge arms held her tight against his chest). Cloud and Harry clambered up onto his shoulders and tightly gripped the wire just above Barret's fists. The pillar explodes as the quartet leapt from the railing, swinging wildly through the air and barely escaping from the falling plate into a familiar looking park. Harry's body was thrown on impact; the last thing he saw before falling unconscious was a flying bit of flaming debris as it soared in the general direction of Wall Market.

* * *

"That's...just..." For once in life, Hermione was speechless. She had thought that Voldemort exhibited inhuman levels of cruelty, but this...this ruthless, cold-hearted sacrifice of countless innocents was easily on par with the worst of the former Dark Lord's tortures, if not worse.

"I never thought I'd see the day that 'Mione was rendered speechless," Ron muttered dryly.

"This isn't a time for jokes, Ron," Ginny admonished softly.

"But still...you do realize that this is just a game, right?" the youngest male Weasley reminded them.

"Yes, but..." Remus sighed. "It still seems real, at least to Harry."

"Oh, he'll be fine. He always escaped this sort of thing before, remember?" Ron grinned. "Sure, he cuts it close most of the time, and rarely came out without getting hurt, but he still survived. If he can beat You-Know-Who," (he ignored Hermione and Ginny's scolding to call him by his proper name) "he can live through having a digital plate falling on top of him."

"The kid's gotta point," Shacklebolt said. "Harry's got a track record of surviving unsurvivable situations."

* * *

And another chapter done. W00t!

Harry: Are you sure you're not mad?

If I was, would I know it?

Sirius: He's got you there, kiddo.


	16. Return to The Flower Garden

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy. Don't make me sic Padfoot on you!

Sirius (as Padfoot): Grr!

Harry: That was pathetic, Padfoot. I could do better as a human.

Sirius (human again): Let's see you do it, then!

Harry: roars

Sirius: scampers

Meep. Alright, change of plans...

Disclaimer V2.0: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy. Don't make me sic Harry on you!

Harry: looks pleased with himself 

* * *

"MAR--LE--NE!!"

Barret's pained cry was the first noise Harry's brain registered as it clambered back towards consciousness. The next sound was Barret crying out, "Biggs! Wedge! Jesse!" When Harry looked up, he groggily discovered that they had landed in the park of Sector 6...just outside the gate to Sector 7. Speaking of which...

The gate was completely blocked up with rubble and debris, all the way to the top of the gate and beyond.

Sector 7 hadn't been crushed, or destroyed..._It had been completely obilerated_...

Barret stood at the foot of the destruction. He began to punch the nearest piece of rubble repeatedly. "GOD DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!" He stopped smashing his fist and gun-arm into the pile, and his shoulders began to hitch with sobbing. "What the hell's it for? ARGHHH!"

"Hey, Barret!" "Barret!" Cloud and Tifa's shouts fell on deaf ears, as Barret roared once more.

Harry slowly climbed to his feet. He picked his way around the various pieces of debris that now dotted the park and stood slightly behind the three AVALANCHE members. "Hey..."

"Barret, stop...please stop, Barret," Tifa wept.

"URGGHHH!" Barret raised his gun-arm and opened fire on the pile of rubble. The bullets glanced off, leaving several smoking dents (and even a few holes in some cases). After several minutes of constant gunfire, Barret stopped and fell to his knees, punching the ground. "God damn...Marlene..."

Harry turned to Tifa. "Did Aeris make it out with Marlene...?"

The bartender shook her head. "I don't know..."

"They must have...There was plenty of time for them to escape...wasn't there?" Cloud asked.

Barret looked up. "Could she...Is Marlene still okay?" He looked hopeful.

Harry nodded. "I think so." Barret stood up. "I think Aeris would have taken her to her mother's home."

"R, really!?" Harry nodded. "But..."

"Biggs...Wedge...Jesse...All three of them were in the pillar." Harry bowed his head. He felt the kindlings of hatred for the Shinra began to form. Killing innocent bystanders and causing such wanton destruction was deplorable enough in itself, but...

But the Shinra had literally crushed three of Harry's comrades, all of whom were becoming good friends with Harry, and were close friends of Barret and Tifa already.

It was this darker, more vengeful side of Harry that had carried Harry through the final battle with the being known as Voldemort; it was this cold-heartedness that had given him the strength to cast the final curse as Tom, stripped of his Dark-Rituals and extra power, lay gasping for breath at his feet. The curse that ended the war.

The curse that had taken the lives of his parents and many others besides. _Avada Kedavra..._

"Think I don't know that!?" Barret demanded. He turned away for a second. "But we...all of us...we fought...together. I don't wanna think of them dead!"

"And all the other people in Sector 7," Tifa added.

"This is all screwed up!" Barret bellowed. "They destroyed an entire village just to get to us! They killed so many people..."

"...are you saying it's our fault?" Tifa asked. "Because AVALANCHE was here? Innocent people lost their lives because of us!?"

"No, Tifa! That ain't it! Hell no! It ain't us! It's the damn Shinra! It's never been nobody but the Shinra!" Barret roared, whipping around to face her. "They're evil and destroyin' our planet just to...build their power and line their own damn pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gonna kill this planet!"

Harry nodded. "Right. Our fight won't be over until the Shinra are...removed from power."

Tifa shook her head. "I don't know..."

"What don't you know? You don't believe me?" Barret asked.

"It's not that. I'm not sure about me...my feelings..." Tifa replied, trailing off.

Barret turned to Cloud who, Harry noticed, had his back turned to them and his arms crossed, thinking. "An' wha' abou' you?"

"..." Cloud didn't respond; instead, he uncrossed his arms and left the park, heading toward Sector 5.

"Yo!" Barret turned to Harry and Tifa. "Where's he think he's goin'?"

Harry had a pretty good guess. "Aeris..."

"Oh yeah, that girl. What's up wit' her?"

"I don't really know," Tifa admitted. "But, she's the one I left Marlene with."

"Damn, Marlene!" Barret made to run after Cloud, but stopped and looked at Tifa and Harry. "There ain't no turnin' back now, you two." He turned and chased after the blonde-haired merc.

"There rarely is," Harry said softly, following at a more sedate pace. Tifa walked silently after him.

* * *

On the screen, the character called 'Cloud' was walking along the broken highway alone. Someone called his name; he stopped and turned around. Barret, Tifa, and Harry appeared from the top of the screen.

"Take me to Marlene!" the big black man demanded; the blue box his words appeared in denounced him as 'Barret.'

"No manners at all," Ron muttered. He was promptly thwacked by Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks all at once. "Ow!"

"You prat! He's worried sick about his daughter!" Ginny whacked him on the back of the head for good measure.

"Geroff!"

'Tifa' was talking to 'Cloud.' "You're going to help Aeris?"

'Cloud' nodded. "Yeah...but before that, there's something I want to know."

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"What's that?" 'Tifa' asked.

Ron shivered. "Is it just me, or is that a little creepy?"

"It's just you, Ron," Tonks cracked.

"Thanks, Tonks, that really means a lot," Ron shot back dryly. Tonks merely smirked.

"It's about the Ancients." 'Cloud' had taken a step forward. The screen flashed white for a second before going competely black. The words, 'In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!' After they faded, the screen goes white again, then fades back into view on 'Cloud,' 'Tifa,' 'Barret,' and Harry.

'Cloud' looked down. "Sephiroth...?" He collapsed to his knees.

'Barret' and Harry reach forward and help the blonde back onto his feet. "Are you alright there, mate?" Harry asked.

"Pull it together, man!" 'Barret' barked.

"Seriously, though, what's wrong with that bloke?" Ron wondered aloud, gesturing toward the blonde-haired 'Cloud.' "He's _loony_!"

* * *

Cloud: I resent being called _loony_.

Ron calls most people some variation of 'loony' or 'mad.' So don't get worked up about it.

Harry: In Hermione's case, Ron calls her 'barking mad' or 'raving mad' or 'off her rocker' about once every several hours or so.

Sirius: That's because Ronnie's in love with her.

Harry: Not that he'd ever admit it.

Hey...am I the only one wondering how the hell Cloud got in here?

Sirius and Harry: Yup.

Cloud: Heh...You might have noticed if you weren't playing Smash Bros. Brawl so much...

Hey! That's an awesome game!


	17. A Revealing Kidnap

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy _or_ Harry Potter. As in, I do not own _either one_. Please get that into your stubbornly thick skulls, people.

Harry: So now you're insulting your readers?

Meh. If I didn't have to do a disclaimer every chapter, I wouldn't get so irritated, and if I don't get irritated, I don't get mean. Simple, eh?

Sirius: Sure. As simple as a person's genetic code.

You actually know what that is, Sirius?

Sirius: pauses No, not really.

Harry: I would say something clever at this point, but I cannot think of anything at the moment.

This moment was brought to you by...me. W00t.

* * *

Harry and his companions made their way over to Aeris' home rather quickly, as Barret's gun-arm quickly dispatched the scorpion-like monsters that stubbornly accosted them along the broken highway of Sector 5. They passed silently through the 'town' area and knocked on the front door to Aeris' home. The voice of her mother, Elmyra, said, "Come on in."

Inside, Elmyra was facing the wall. When Tifa shut the door behind them, Aeris' mother turned to them. "Cloud...wasn't it?" She appeared as though she had been weeping. "They have her."

"Who has whom?" Harry wondered.

"The Shinra have Aeris," Elmyra answered. "They took her from here."

"They were here?" Cloud mused.

"That's what Aeris wanted."

"Why are the Shinra after Aeris?" Barret grumbled.

Elmyra looked away. "Aeris is an Ancient. The sole survivor."

"Wait, what?" Harry asked again. "But aren't you her mum?"

Elmyra shook her head sadly. "Not her real mother...Oh, it must have been fifteen years ago...during the war. My husband was sent to the front. Some far away place called Wutai." She paused as she reminisced. "One day, I went to the station because I got a letter saying he was coming home on leave."

In his mind's eye, Harry could see a slightly-younger-looking Elmyra standing before the train as it pulled to a stop at the Sector 7 train station. He heard the whistle blow as the doors opened. He watched several people climb off and greet loved ones. After a short while, the doors closed, and Elmyra runs to the conductor, who shakes his head. Head bowed, Elmyra began the long trek home.

Elmyra's voice, though it broke through the movie in Harry's mind, didn't draw him out of it. "My husband never came back. I wonder if something happened to him? No, I'm sure his leave was just canceled. I went to the station everyday. Then, one day..."

A 'new day' appeared at the station in Harry's mind. There was a woman lying on the steps to the platform, a young girl running around her, crying. Elmyra runs over and kneels by the woman. The little girl runs to her.

"You used to see this sort of thing a lot during the war. Her last words were, _'Please take Aeris somewhere safe.'_

"My husband never came back. I had no child. I was probably lonely. So, I decided to take her home with me."

Harry watched as, after the final breath had been released from the lungs of Aeris' true mother, Elmyra gathered the much-younger Aeris into her arms and carried her away.

Harry's eyes snapped back to the present. "Aeris and I became close very quickly. That child loved to talk. She used to talk to me about everything. She told me she escaped some sort of research laboratory somewhere. And that her mother had already returned to the planet, so she wasn't lonely...and many other things."

"Returned to the planet?" Barret repeated, confused.

"I didn't know what she meant," Elmyra admitted. "I asked if she meant a star in the sky...But she said it was _this_ planet...She was a mysterious child in many ways.

"One day, she came up to me and said, 'Please don't cry, Mom,' right out of the blue. She just blurted it out all of a sudden. I asked her if something happened...and she said, 'Someone dear to you has just died. His spirit was coming to see you, but he already returned to the planet.' At the time, I didn't believe her."

"I don't think I would, either," Harry confessed quietly. "I...don't have much faith in Divination."

"But..." Elmyra continued, "Several days later...We received a notice saying my husband had died." She sighed. "And that's how it was. A lot had happened, but we were very happy. Until one day..."

"The Shinra?" Cloud guessed.

Elmyra nodded. "It was a man named 'Tseng.' I can't remember his exact words, but it was something like, 'We've been looking for Aeris for a long time.'

"Aeris shook her head from behind me, shouting, 'No! Never!'

"Tseng continued, undeterred. 'Aeris, you're a very special child. You are of special blood. Your real mother was an 'Ancient.''"

"That's when you found out," Harry said. It wasn't a question.

Elmyra nodded. "'The Ancients will lead us to a land of supreme happiness. Aeris will be able to bring happiness to all those in the slums. That's why...Shinra would like Aeris' cooperation.'

"'He's wrong' Aeris had protested. 'I'm not an Ancient! I'm not!'

"'But Aeris, surely you hear voices sometimes when you're all alone?' Tseng asked.

"But Aeris shook her head in denial. 'No, I don't!' She ran out the door and got lost in her flower garden until several hours after the Shinra employee left.

"But I knew. I knew about her mysterious powers...She tried so hard to hide it, so I acted as though I never noticed."

"It's amazing how she's avoid the Shinra for all these years..." Cloud mused.

"The Shinra needed her. I reckon they didn't want to harm her." Harry concluded.

"But why now...why didn't they catch her until now?" Tifa asked.

"Aeris brought a little girl here with her," Elmyra explained. "On the way here, Tseng had found them. She, the little girl, probably couldn't get away fast enough. Aeris decided to go to the Shinra in exchange for the little girl's safety."

"Must be Marlene," Cloud reasoned.

"Marlene!!" Barret growled in surprise. "Aeris was caught because of Marlene!?" He bowed to Elmyra, which was surprisingly formal despite his gait. "I'm sorry. Marlene is...she is my daughter. I'm really sorry."

"You're her father!?" Elmyra gasped. "How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that!?"

"Please don't start with that. I think about it all the time," Barret replied, standing up. "What would happen to Marlene, if I..." He shook his head. "But you gotta understand somethin'...I don't got an answer. I wanna be Marlene...but I gotta fight. Cause if I don't...the planet's gonna die. So, I'm gonna keep fightin'! But, I'm worry about Marlene. I really just wanna be with her...always.

"See? I'm goin' in cirlces, now."

Elmyra nodded. "I think I understand what you're saying...She's upstairs, asleep. Why don't you go and see her?" Barret nodded and practically _flew_ up the stairs.

Tifa looked down at the floor. "It's my fault. I was the one who got Aeris involved in this..."

"Don't say that," Elmyra chided her. "Aeris doesn't think that."

Harry noticed that Cloud stepped upstairs, possibly to check on Barret and Marlene. The blonde came back down a few minutes later, and was about to leave when Tifa called to him. "You're going after Aeris, right?"

"Yeah," the mercenary nodded.

"I'm going with you," Tifa said suddenly.

"Count me in, too. Aeris is my friend, too, so I'm not going to leave her behind to whatever manipulations the Shinra will pull on her," Harry added.

"We're going right into Shinra headquarters...You gotta be prepared for the worst," Cloud warned.

"I know," Tifa nodded. "Right now, I feel like I have to push myself to the limit. If I stayed here...I'd go crazy."

The pounding of boots on stairs alerted them all to Barret's return. He turned to Elmyra. "Sorry, but can you take care of Marlene a bit longer?"

Elmyra nodded. "Yes, I don't mind."

"This place is dangerous now. You better go somewhere else," Barret warned.

"...You're right. But promise me that you'll come back to her. Don't get yourself killed, Barret."

"I don't intend to," the bear of a man replied, before turning to Harry, Cloud, and Tifa. "If you're going to rescue Aeris from the Shinra, I'm gonna come wit' you all."

"...How do we get to the Shinra Building, anyway?" Harry asked once they were outside and walking toward town.

"Well, there ain't no train that goes up there anymore..." Barret mused. "...Well, let's just go to Wall Market. We might be able to find something there."

"Well...let's go, then," Cloud declared. And off they went.

* * *

Harry: That was kinda short of a chapter.

Yeah? So?

Sirius: I think he means that your chapters are usually longer.

Meh. I just got home from work.

Harry and Sirius: Whatever.


	18. A Shiny Golden Wire of Hope

Disclaimer: sigh I don't own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy.

Harry: You don't sound very enthusiastic, Cor.

I've got class tonight, and I'd rather stay home and game.

Harry: And you're not doing some last minute studying? Hermione would have kittens if she knew.

Sirius: What does he need to study for?

Hermione: He should still study, just to make sure!

Cor, Sirius, and Harry: How did she get here?

Harry: I _told_ you she'd have kittens.

Hermione: Hush, Harry.

On with the story!

Hermione: But...!

* * *

The return trip to Wall Market was only impeded by another one of the demon houses that attacked Harry, Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris earlier. However, since Barret was so much stronger (at least physically, if nothing else) than Aeris, they did not have any problems whatsoever in dealing the monster its death sentence. Although, Harry did snag a Hi-Potion from it before Cloud finished it off.

They passed by the weapon shop in Wall Market when Tifa called a halt. "Hey...we should prepare ourselves before going up."

"But Tifa...we don't even have a way to _go_ up yet," Harry protested. "You're right about being prepared, but we should wait until we have a plan. We won't have carry any extra supplies over any unnecessary distance."

Barret nodded in agreement. "Right. Let's ask around."

Harry and Cloud went north, while Barret and Tifa backtracked south. Off to the side of the entrance to Don Corneo's mansion, Harry's Seeker-eyes spotted a couple of kids climbing what seemed to be a rope extending down from the plate above. He pointed. "Over there."

When they arrived, they discovered it wasn't a rope, but a wire - a moderately skinny one, at that. "That'll never hold _my_ weight, let alone all of us," Cloud remarked.

"Can we climb it?"

Tifa's voice asked a nearby girl. Cloud and Harry started and whirled around to find Tifa leaning down to the aforementioned girl, and Barret with his vest pockets bulging with what looked like batteries.

"Yeah," the girl nodded. "It leads to the Upper World."

"Awright, we'll climb this wire!" Barret boomed.

"There's no way we can do this," Cloud argued. "You know how far it goes up?"

"Only about fifty meters, right?" Harry asked. When he received blank looks from his comrades, he added, "What? That's what Jesse said on the train before I joined AVALANCHE."

"Jeez, you remembered that little tidbit from way back when?" Barret growled. Harry shrugged. Barret turned back to Cloud. "Well, there _is_ a way! Look! What's that look like?"

"Just a normal wire," Cloud shrugged.

"Oh yeah? Well to me, it looks like a golden shiny wire of hope!"

They peered up towards the Upper Plate. "You're right. It's the only way we have to get to Aeris." Tifa agreed.

Cloud nodded. "Okay, that was a bad analogy, but, Barret, I understand how you feel. Alright...Let's go!"

"Dibs on second!" Harry quickly cut in boyishly.

As it turned out, Harry was third. Cloud went first ("'Cuz I said so!" Barret growled) then Barret followed. Harry was third ("So you can help Tifa if she needs it," Barret explained, ignoring Tifa's indignat huff of "I don't need help!"). Tifa climbed last ("'Cuz she's wearing a miniskirt," Barret said. Tifa had replied, "Gee, thanks, Barret.")

Harry struggled with pulling himself up at first, as the last time he had climbed hand-over-hand on a rope was gym class in primary school before he went to Hogwarts. _My kingdom for my wand,_ Harry thought as he hauled himself up, _so I can cast a weightless charm on myself._ Pretty soon, though, he got into a rhythym, and scampered up the rope after Barret. After a few minutes of sweating and grunting, Harry pulled himself up onto what may have once been an aeroplane wing. Barret handed Cloud a battery, and the blonde-haired merc placed the battery into the turbine of the propeller. As Tifa climbed to her feet behind Harry, the propeller started up and spun for several seconds before the motor burned out. The blade of the propeller came to a stop and the safety mechanism kicked in, locking them in place. Harry followed Cloud and Barret as they climbed up on the blades and jumped to the next pile of debris. Here, a hanging pipe was swinging back and forth. One by one, they jumped and grabbed hold of it, swung across the small chasm before them, and let go, landing safely on the other side. From there, they climbed another wire, and pulled themselves up onto a broken piece of pipe. They clambered up this and found themselves before the front doors of Shinra, HQ.

* * *

Phew. Now I'll just email that one assignment to my instructor for my Economics class and be ready for tonight's class.

Harry: It would be nice if Hermione was more laid-back about school work than she is.

Sirius: Which isn't laid-back at all.

Harry: Right!

Hermione: Tut-tut!

Oh, bugger it all!

Hermione: Language, Cor!

Oh, be quiet.

Hermione waves her wand; Cor is Transfigured into a turtoise.

Harry: Now how is he supposed to write the story?

Sirius: Yeah! I wanna know what happens in the Shinra building, and how they rescue Aeris!

Hermione: Oh, very well. shakes a finger at the tortoise'd Cor But don't backtalk me again, young man! Transfigures him back

Cor plucks Hermione's wand away Ha! Now you can't turn me into a bloody turtle!

Hermione: _Turtoise!_ I changed you into a _turtoise!_

Harry and Sirius: There's a difference?


	19. The Long, Long, Loooong Stairway of Doom

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy. If I did, do you really think this would be called _fan_fiction? Hmm? No, I didn't think so.

Harry: I'm not sure I like the sound of this chapter, going by the title of it and all.

Sirius: Ah, you're still a young lad, Harry. You'll be fine.

Harry: Easy for you to say, old man.

Sirius: whimpers I'm not old!

Compared to us? Yeah, you kinda are. Then again, Harry and I could probably be called more mature than you, Padfoot.

Sirius: I can be mature! Really!

Harry: I'm sure you could, Sirius...when you really wanted to be.

Sirius: Oi! What's that supposed to mean!?

* * *

"Hey Cloud," 'Barret' smirked. "You oughtta know this building pretty well."

'Cloud' shook his head. "Not really...Now that I think about it, this is the first time I've ever been to Headquarters."

"I've heard about this place before," 'Barret' remarked. "Every floor above the 60th is special, and not easy to get to, even for employees."

"It must be were they took Aeris," Harry reasoned.

"Good reasoning, Harry," Hermione said.

"The security is pretty light now," 'Barret' declared. "Let's go!"

"He can't be serious," Ron grumbled.

'Tifa' agreed with Ron. "Wait a second! You're not thinking of just going right through the main entrance, are you?

"Sure looks like it," Remus smirked.

"Well, what does it look like?" 'Barret' demanded. "I'm gonna kick some Shinra butt and-"

But he was cut off, by Harry. "That's not going to work. We need another way in. The longer we go undetected, the safer this will be."

"He developed that thinking when fighting Voldemort," Ginny remarked.

"Ain't gonna be no other way!" 'Barret' argued. "And if we keep wastin' time like this, Aeris'll..." he trailed off.

"I know that! But if we get caught here..." 'Tifa' looked at 'Cloud.' "Cloud...what should we do?"

"Let's sneak in quietly," 'Cloud' announced.

"'The sly eagle hides its claws'?" Tonks mused.

"See? Let's be careful and find a different route," 'Tifa' agreed. Harry nodded. The four walked off to the left of the screen; which briefly turned black before reappearing with an image of the side of a building with a door part way back. It was this door that Harry, 'Cloud,' 'Barret,' and 'Tifa went through.

"If that's an emergency staircase, they'll probably get all the way up _to_ the 60th floor before they're found, at the very least," Ron thought aloud.

"Let's hope they can get further than that," Hermione whinged.

* * *

Inside, they were faced with a WHOLE lot of stairs. "Yo..." Barret grumbled. "You really gonna take these stairs all the way up?"

"Well, we've got to help Aeris somehow," Harry remarked. He placed his foot on the first step. "And the journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step...or so the saying goes."

"Talk about out the way..." Barret growled.

Tifa huffed. "I don't have the time to stand here and argue with you! I'm going!" With that, she began running up the steps. Harry squeezed to the side to let her pass.

"Y, yo, Tifa! Don't go off alone!" Barret called after her, before giving chase. Harry was pressed against the wall as the larger man ran past.

Harry sighed. "Well, let's go." With that, he and Cloud began running up the stairs as well.

Three floors up, and Harry was beginning to tire. "Don't know...why the hell...we gotta climb," Barret panted.

Another floor. "...Because we don't want to start a commotion until we've saved Aeris...I doubt that's possible, though..." Cloud said even between breaths. He wasn't having a hard time thanks to his SOLDIER training, Harry thought.

"Heh heh heh..." Barret chuckled.

"Knock...it off..." Harry gasped. "You're...giving me...the creeps."

"So even Cloud will fight for someone else," Barret observed. "I had you figured wrong, I guess."

Three floors had passed. "Who cares what you figured!" Cloud shot back.

Another floor. "I'm just sayin' mebbe I was wrong..." Barret grumbled.

Another floor. "Heh heh heh," Tifa panted.

Another floor. "What's that supposed to mean, Tifa?" Cloud asked.

About eight floors later. "How much further do these stairs go on?" Barret asked.

Another floor. "Why don't...you ask them?" Harry panted.

Another floor. "It's not one of them endless stairways or somethin', d'ya think?" Barret whined.

Two floors. "Of course not!" Tifa managed to gasp.

"Right...couldn't be that..." Harry agreed.

Six floors later. "Are we there yet?" Barret asked.

Another floor. "Not yet," Tifa replied patiently.

Another floor. "...There yet?"

Another floor. "I said not yet!" Tifa replied, less patiently.

Another floor. "Yo..."

Another floor. "Look, don't even ask! We're way way way way far away from being there, ok!?"

Seven floors up, Barret, Tifa, Harry, and Cloud stopped to catch their breaths. "Damn, man! I've had it! I'm going back!" Barret roared.

"And take just as long going down as you did coming up?" Harry panted.

Barret was silent. Tifa added, "C'mon, Barret! Pull it together!"

"Yea, well, all I know is I'm just flesh 'n' blood...'cept for this arm of mine," Barret muttered. "Don't treat me like I'm some ex-member of SOLDIER or somethin'..."

"Nice cheap shot, Barret," Cloud grumbled.

"What about me!? I'm human too! Oh, do what you want, I'm going on!" Tifa growled. She turned around and began running up the stairs with renewed vigor.

"Bloody hell," Harry growled. "I'm getting too old for this..." he shot up after her.

Harry nearly collided with Tifa when she stopped short a floor higher. Barret and Cloud slowly climbed after them. "...? Yeah, Harry, you go first!"

"What?"

"What're ya, ignorant?" Barret grumbled. "I didn't mean that..."

"All right, all right..." Tifa sighed.

They set off again. Five floors up, Barret began whining again. "Yo, what floor is this...?"

"I gave up counting," Harry called back.

"Somewhere around forty-two, I think," Cloud supplied.

Another floor. "Why they gotta build these buildings so damn tall!" Barret complained. Not that Harry could blame him. "That Shinra...They're just up to no good."

Six floors later. "Huff...puff..." Barret panted. "Man, I'm beat...Marlene, Daddy wanted to see your face one more time..."

Another floor. "Would you stop acting like a retard and climb!?" Tifa shouted at him from below. "It's just a bit more...maybe."

Another floor. "Nice way of cheering us up, Tifa," Cloud grunted.

Another floor. "I...try..."

Harry counted five more floors before he ran headlong into a shut door. He stumbled back and was caught by a heavily panting Barret. "F...finally...m...made it..." he growled breathlessly. "Never...wanna...see no more...stairs...the rest of my life..."

"Barret," Harry gasped. "I'll agree with anything you say. Just don't set me on my feet yet, else I'll fall all the way back down and not care a whit."

"Huff...puff..." Tifa breathed. "Phew...this really...takes it outta you."

Cloud looked about half as breathless as the rest of them. "But...this is it. We'd better get ready!"

"In a few minutes," Harry gasped. "We can't fight if we can't breathe!"

"True dat," Barret agreed.

* * *

"I'm with Barret," Ron said. "I wouldn't want to see stairs for the rest of my life after climbing so many at a dead run."

"I highly doubt you'd have the stamina to run up sixty floors' worth of staircases, Ron," Hermione and Ginny both grunted.

Ron, predictably, bit the challenge. "You wanna bet!?"

Tonks and Remus caught the younger girls' eyes and winked. "Sure," Hermione agreed. "We can charm one of the staircases to escalate down at the same speed as you run, and to last until you climb sixty floors. Say, ten stairs a floor?"

"I'm game," Ron nodded. "How much you wanna bet?"

Shacklebolt took out his wand to spell the staircase. "Five Galleons says he makes it without stopping to rest."

Tonks added, "Five Galleons says he either stops, or doesn't make it at all."

"I'll judge," Remus volunteered. "But...a Galleon for Ron to make it at least halfway."

"Hey...do I get anything if I make it?" Ron asked.

"Hrm...half of the pot," Tonks replied.

"And a date with Hermione!" Ginny added.

"WHAT!?" Hermione and Ron both shrieked. They glanced at each other, and turned away quickly, both blushing a deep red.

"Maybe not," Remus laughed. "Okay, if Ron wins, he'll get half the pot, and Tonks, Kingsley, and I will split that. Agreed?" The other two adults nodded.

"I bet two Galleons that Ron collapses from exhaustion before the fortieth floor," Ginny wagered.

"And two Galleons that Ron doesn't make it to floor fifty," Hermione added.

Shacklebolt added a floor counter. It currently read 'GROUND.' "Whenever you're ready, kid."

Ron shucked his over robe, leaving him clad in his trainers, pants, and short-sleeve shirt, and stood before the first step. "Go!"

At the third step, the charm to move the stairs down activated, and matched Ron's speed.

* * *

Sirius: Twenty Galleons says he doesn't make it!

Harry: Fifty says he does. If I can do it, he can too. He's in a bit better shape than I am, being a Keeper.

Fifty Galleons, Harry? You're pretty sure about this, aren't you?

Harry: Yup.

Sirius: How are you going to decide whether Ron makes it or not?

Oh, I'll probably ask the readers to vote.

Harry: But won't the FF Admin get mad that you're using reviews for a poll?

Meh. It's just this one. I don't think they'll mind all _that_ much. Especially when you consider that I average less than 4 reviews a chapter.

Sirius: You _hope._


	20. Sneaking Into the Higher Floors

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF.

Sirius: Using abbreviations?

Sure, why not?

Sirius: I dunno. Harry?

Harry: Don't look at me.

Cor and Sirius look away from Harry

Harry: That's a little creepy.

Anyhoo, the votes are in.

Sirius: Does Ron win?

Wait and see. By the way, Sirius, you _do_ realize that the money Harry bet is actually _your_ money?

Harry: smirk

Sirius:...WHAT!?

* * *

Once everyone had regained their breath, Cloud opened the door. They found themselves on the 59th floor facing a trio of guards. Immediately upon sighting them, the leader of the squad bellowed, "Destroy the intruders!"

Barret smashed his gun-arm into the first guard that reached them; the man simply folded in half around Barret's forearm before crumpling to the ground. The second guard met Tifa's fists; he was knocked out cold in a few seconds. The leader of the squad rushed Cloud and Harry. They didn't bother drawing their swords; they each threw a punch that nailed the guard in the face (Cloud with a left jap, Harry with a right straight). The guard fell to the ground, but before he could get up again, Harry smashed his foot down on his stomach. After that, the guard didn't try to get up again.

Cloud pulled out a tiny card that was peeking at them from the leader's breast pocket. "What's this?" he asked. Harry took a look at it; it displayed a large number '60' on it.

"Looks like a key card," he remarked. The four of them entered the elevator and slid the card into the slot. The elevator quickly took them up to the next floor.

"This is the real thing. Don't let your guard down," Barret warned.

"I hope Aeris is all right," Tifa whispered.

The elevator doors opened. They spilled out and almost immediately ducked into a side room to avoid being spotted by the pair of guards. The room contained a series of monitors, one of which was displaying the room right outside the doors. For some inexplicable reason, guards were patrolling _behind_ the statues in the back of the room.

"Lookit that, all them guards is runnin' around," Barret chuckled darkly. "Cloud, you and Harry go on ahead and signal us when it's safe to come."

"Don't let the guards see you, kid," Cloud warned. He slipped out the door, and dashed from statue to statue as the guards walked their routes and disappeared for a second behind each effigy. Cloud paused to catch his breath at the section where the wall jutted out halfway across, then he snuck past the next section and hid behind the statue next to the wall.

"Right. That looks easy enough," Harry muttered to hismelf. He stepped out the door and ducked behind the first statue. He peeked around and watched the guards strut back and forth for a moment. When they disappeared behind statues, Harry leapt across to the next bust. He waited a moment as the guards paused to look out between the sculptures, then silently ran to the wall. Cloud nodded to him. Harry turned back toward Barret and Tifa. He waved as the guards passed behind the statuettes; Tifa slid by the stone sculptures and settled up next to Harry. Cloud motioned her forward, and she ran past him into the door next to the blonde mercenary.

Harry motioned Barret forward after a couple moments of waiting. While Barret was far heavier than Harry and Tifa, he ran with as little sound as either of them had. The leader of AVALANCHE stopped next to Harry, then moved on at Cloud's signal. Once Barret was safely through the door, Cloud motioned Harry forward. The Hogwarts graduate ran from his hiding spot towards the merc, stopping when Cloud waved, then moving again a second later. Harry ducked into the room and was quickly followed by Cloud.

"Okay, we gonna rock!" Barret declared, readying his gun-arm.

"Remember, we're here to save Aeris," Tifa reminded him.

"Hell, I know that!"

They climbed the stairs up to the 61st floor. The door seemed to be stuck, so they went right on through into an employee lounge.

"The hell are you? What're you doin' around here?" the employee by the door growled at them. When no one replied, his demeanor changed from threatening to congenial. "Oh, I see...So, you must be the whatcha call it...Shinra, Inc. Repair Division!" _Something like that,_ Harry thought, letting the man talk. "You know, it looks like this building is starting to fall apart. This door was just pushed open. You ought to fix this right away. Oh yeah, and take a look on the other floors too. I'll give you this." He pulled out a '62' card from a shirt pocket and handed it to Cloud.

"Thanks. We'll get right to work," Cloud 'promised.' He pocketed the key card. Harry, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret ducked back into the stairwell as though they were getting ready to repair the door.

"They're pretty thick, aren't they?" Harry snickered.

"Thicker than bricks," Tifa agreed. The quartet climbed the staircase and came out in a walled-off library - or, at least, that's what it seemed like to Harry.

They were met by an old, grizzled bald man. "Hmm? Oh, and who might you be? You all must be those...ahem...Me? I'm Domino, the Mayor of Midgar...Actually, I'm Mayor in name only. The city and everything in it is really run by Shinra, Inc. My only real job is watching over Shinra's documents...Me! The Mayor! A librarian! Ohh..."

"That's all very interesting, sir, but we really need to get upstairs, but our key card only goes up to the 62nd floor...this floor, sir," Harry cut in.

"Oh, so you wanna go upstairs? What for?"

"Um..."

"Revenge," Tifa said suddenly.

The mayor's face suddenly cracked into a wide grin. "Oh, why didn't you say so? Sure, I'll help you out. Here, take these." He pulled out a keycard with a '65' and a shining blue Materia and handed them to Harry. Before Harry could open his mouth, the mayor said, "Why would I do something like this, you ask? To mess with them, of course! Shinra's been torturing me forever. That's why I was a little rough on you all just now. Now go up there and really make them suffer. This ought to make us even! Heh heh heh..."

"Uh...okay...thank you, sir," Harry replied. They stepped back into the stairwell, where they stopped while Cloud took a closer look at the Materia.

"This is an elemental Materia. It's already grown to level three," he declared a moment later. He handed it back to Harry. "You might as well equip it into a linked slot. It won't do any good on by itself, but it will still grow. Then, you can reap the benefits of it when you find a Magic Materia, like Fire or Ice."

Harry slid the orb into the open linked slot on his bracelet (his Steal and Cover Materias were in the two unlinked slots). "Right. I'll keep an eye out."

They skipped the next two floors and climbed straight up to the 65th floor. There were several guards patrolling around, and as they watched, one passed right by the door to the stairs. Something fell out of a hole in the back pocket; Harry's hand slipped out and snatched it before it hit the floor. They shut the door while he discovered it a key card to the 66th floor.

"I thought Shinra was suppoed to have the toughest security around?" Harry mused as he displayed the pilfered card to the others.

Cloud sneered. "Seriously. Their Reactors have tighter security than this!"

They climbed up the next stairs and found themselves in what was easily identified as an administrative office floor. Cloud motioned to be silent as the sound a hurriedly whispered conversation reached their ears.

"They're having another executive meeting in the Conference Room. I wonder if it's about that Plate incident."

"Is it just me, or does the Conference Room smell? There's some sort of stench coming from somewhere..."

"Speaking of stenches, you know the bathroom? Whenever I'm in there, I hear whispers coming from somewhere...

The four of them moved away from the door. "Sounds like there's a ventilation duct between the bathroom and the Conference Room," Harry deduced. "We could crawl up in there and spy on this meeting."

"Let's do it," Barret grunted. "I'll stay behind in the restroom and guard the vent."

They entered the bathroom. Cloud pointed up to the ceiling; there was the vent they would climb into, and it was conveniently placed above a toilet. Cloud, Tifa, and Harry all squeezed into the stall; Cloud climbed onto the pot, jumped up and grabbed onto the vent. He pushed it open somehow, and clambered up inside. Harry went next (Tifa didn't want anyone peeking up her skirt - again) though he needed to jump from the top of the tank as opposed to just the seat like Cloud. Once he pulled himself up, Tifa climbed up after him. The last thing Harry heard from Barret was him locking the stall sitting on the toilet seat.

The three in the duct slithered down and looked down around a vent in the Conference Room. Sitting at the head of the very large table was President Shinra. To his left was a large fat with long, brown beard. Next to that, was a skinny blonde woman in a rather skimpy red cocktail dress. On the President's other side was another fat man, only he was balding, though what little hair he did have left was completely grey. Next to Grey Hair was a rather fit-looking man with a moustache and closely cropped dark brown hair. He was standing, giving an explanation on...

"We have the damage estimates for Sector 7. Considering those factories we already set up and all the investments, the damage is estimated at approximately 10 Billion gil...The extimated cost to rebuild Sector 7 is -"

"We're not rebuilding," the President interrupted.

"What!?"

"We're leaving Sector 7 as it is...and restarting the Neo-Midgar plan."

"Then the Ancients?"

"The Promised Land will soon be ours." The President looked at the woman. "I want you to raise the Mako rates 15 in every area."

Grey Hair began jumping up and down. "Rate hike! Rate hike! Tra, la, la! And please include our Space Program in the budget!"

"Reeve and Scarlet will divide the extra income from the rate increase," the President remarked.

'Palmer' sat down. "Oh man!"

'Reeve objected. "Sir, if you raise the rates, the people will lose confidence..."

"It'll be all right. The ignorant citizens won't lost confidence, they'll trust Shinra, Inc. even more," the President refuted.

"Ha ha ha!" the fat bearded man laughed. "After all, we're the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!"

"That little..." Harry began, but Tifa, who was nearest, slapped her hand over his mouth.

A scientist (looking every bit the cliche) entered the room. "Ah, Hojo," the President greeted. "How's the girl?"

Hojo turned his head. "As a specimen, she is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the process of comparing her to her mother, Ifalna, but for now the difference is 18."

_Duh. Only identical twins would be exactly alike,_ Harry thought to himself.

"How long will the research take?" the President asked.

"Probably a hundred twenty years," Hojo replied. "It's probably impossible to finish in our lifetime. Or in the lifetime of the speciman too, for that matter." He turned away from the table. "That's why we're thinking of breeding her. Then we could create one that would withstand our research for a long time."

"What about the Promised Land? Won't it hinder our plans?" the woman remarked.

"That's what I need to plan. The mother is strong...and yet has her weaknesses."

President Shinra sighed. "That concludes our meeting."

The employees dissemble. The woman, probably Scarlet, pauses and looks up directly at the vent; Harry, Tifa, and Cloud shrink back. "Something stinks..." As she leaves, Cloud looks up at them from across the vent.

"They were talking about Aeris, right...?"

"Dunno," Harry replied.

"Probably," Tifa agreed.

"Let's follom 'em," Cloud suggested. The three of them crawled back toward the bathroom; Barret flushed the toilet and exited the stall, and one by one, they jumped down. They quickly brief Barret and exit the bathroom in time to see Hojo enter the stair well.

"Hojo...huh...?" Harry mused as they climbed the stairs.

* * *

Ron was panting heavily as the floor counter ticked over fifty. _Only ten more floors..._ he thought. Hermione, Tonks, and Ginny were all cheering him on, while Remus and Shacklebolt watched silently (and probably with amused grins on their faces).

The floor counter had been blurry for a while now, and Ron was ready to collapse. He had to keep himself from tripping a couple of times every few minutes ever since floor forty. He glanced at the counter.

It read '55.'

"C'mon, Ron! Almost there!" Tonks shouted.

"Fifty-six...fifty-seven...fifty-eight..." Ginny counted down. "Fifty-nine...sixty!"

The stairs stopped moving and Ron, who was so tired he forgot to stop at sixty, ran the last few steps and smacked face-first into the wall upstairs. Everyone burst out laughing as Ron stumbled backward to be caught by Shacklebolt's levitation spell that set him on the couch.

"I...did it..." Ron mumbled thickly. Boy, he was _tired_...

Chuckling, Remus set nine gold Galleons in Ron's hand, keeping one to himself and handing the remaining five to Shacklebolt. "Here's your winnings, Ron. Now get some rest."

Tonks started to pout, but brightened up as she turned to Hermione. "Now you've got yourself a date with lover-boy there, Herm."

Predictably, Hermione's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

* * *

Harry: crowing I _knew_ he could do it!

Sirius: pouting Why is the money Harry bet..._my_ money?

Because, when you died, you passed everything on to Harry. Well, almost everything.

Sirius: Oh, right. Forgot about that...

Anyhoo, the final vote is as such: four votes for Ron to win, one vote for Ron to almost make it, two votes for Ron to not even make it halfway, and...Sirius realizing that Harry's bet was made with _his_ money - priceless.

Harry: snickers


	21. Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF. If I did, I would not have killed Sirius off in the fifth book.

Sirius: Thanks a lot, Cor. That means a lot.

Harry: Okay, go ahead and spoil it for those who haven't read them yet.

Which includes a few people and kids not yet old enough to read. I don't mind.

Harry: Don't be surprised if you get emails flaming you for revealing such a major event with a spoiler warning!

Oooh...flames. Burning. Hehehe. Lemme go get my marshmellows. I know I have some somewhere in this house.

Sirius: I thought you were at school when you wrote this chapter?

Meh...

* * *

Like an idiot (at least to Harry), Hojo left the door to floor 67 wide open. Which was a good thing for Harry and friends, since they only had access to floor 66.

"I remember him," Barret remarked. "That Hojo guy? He's in charge of Shinra's Science Department. Cloud, don't you know him?"

The blonde shook his head. "This is the first time I've actually ever seen him. So that's what he looks like..."

They crept along the hallway, slipped past a few doors (one of which was open, but no one was inside). They found themselves in a small storage room. A massive tank stood to their right, and before them was a glass tube, inside was a red-furred, lion-wolf-thingy. The LWT was lieing down, its tail slowly moving itself back and forth along the floor. It appeared to be sleeping.

"Hide!" Cloud pulled Tifa and Harry behind a stack of crates behind them; Barret was already back there. They ducked out of sight just in time, for Hojo and an assistant appeared, walking in from the direction Harry, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret had come from.

"Is this today's specimen?" the assistant asked.

"Yes," Hojo replied immediately, without hesitation. "We're starting right away. Raise it to the upper level." After the employee left, Hojo placed his hand on the glass tenderly. "Ah, my precious specimen." Then, he, too, left, presumably to the next floor.

The hidden quartet stepped out. Tifa walked up to the glass to get a better look. "'Precious specimen'...?" she repeated. "Is it going to be used for a biological experiment?"

"Jenova..." Cloud muttered. Harry turned and noticed he was staring through a small window in the large tank; inside, Harry could just see the body of a female human-shaped creature. It seemed to be missing its head. His attention was torn away when Cloud collapsed. He knelt down and pulled Cloud to a sitting position; Tifa supported his weight against herself. "Jenova...Sephiroth's...So, they brought it here..."

"Cloud, be strong!" Tifa encouraged.

"Did you see it?" the mercenary asked.

"See what?" Barret grumbled. He walked up to the tank and peered through the door.

"It's moving...still alive?" Cloud muttered.

"Where the fuck is its head? This whole thing is stupid. Let's keep goin'," Barret growled.

Cloud stood up. Deeper in the storage, Barret leaned down and pulled up a green Materia. "Poison," he muttered. He slid it into an open slot on his gun-arm before joining the other three on a small elevator. Once they were all squeezed inside, Harry, who was closest, pushed the 'Up' button. With a jolt, the elevator began to take them up.

They arrived in a research lab, far more advanced than the one on the floor below. Positioned so that it was directly above the glass tube on the floor below was another, larger glass tube. Inside there was Aeris; Hojo was standing before them, speaking to an assistant who quickly went up into some sort of controlling mechanism. The four of them burst from the elevator, Cloud and Harry drawing their weapons once they had the room.

"Aeris!"

"Aeris? Oh, is that her name?" Hojo asked, looking at them in slight surprise. "What do you want?"

"We're taking Aeris back," Cloud barked.

"Outsiders..." Hojo muttered.

"Shoulda noticed it earlier, you..." Barret growled.

"There's so many frivolous things in this world," Hojo remarked, as though he was musing outloud to himself. Cloud, Harry, and Barret moved closer. "Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should. The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it? Hmm?"

"Ugh," Cloud grunted.

"That's right. I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves," Hojo mocked them.

"We don't need to operate the machinery, Doc," Harry said. "We only need to smash the glass tube and we can be on our way."

Hojo waved himoff. "Now, bring in the Specimen!" he ordered his assistant.

The sound of an elevator reached Harry's ears; the LWT from the floor below was raised into the glass tube with Aeris. The creature twitched its tail and stood up. Aeris blinked at it before turning to pound frailly on the glass. Harry couldn't read lips very well, but the expression on the flower girl's face clearly said, 'HELP!'

"What do you think you're doing?" Cloud demanded of the scientist.

"Lending a helping hand to an endangered species...Both of them are on the brink of extinction..." Hojo answered calmly. "If I don't help, all these animals will disappear."

"...Animal? That's terrible! Aeris is a human being!" Tifa cried.

"You're gonna pay!" Barret roared.

"Barret! Can't you do anything?" Harry asked.

The leader of AVALANCHE aimed his gun at the tube. "Awright! Step back!" He ignored Hojo's cry of "Stop!" and fired. The bullets struck the glass repeatedly; the inside began to glow with a brilliant white light as it malfunctioned. Hojo ran to the tube and opened the door.

"Wh...what are you do--Oh! My precious specimens!"

The glow subsided and Harry noticed that the LWT was poised, ready to pounce, at the door. It leapt forward and attacked Hojo. "Now's our chance to get Aeris!" Cloud cried. He ran in and pulled Aeris to her feet.

"Thanks, Cloud," Aeris said. They exited the tube and gathered around harry, Tifa, and Barret. Harry watched as the tube began to glow again, and the elevator started up.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Tifa asked.

"The elevator is moving," he replied.

Hojo managed to throw off the LWT and crawled away. "This is no ordinary specimen. This is a very ferocious specimen!"

To the immense surprise of the group or rescuers, including Aeris, and to the mild surprise of Harry (who, after all, had plenty of experience in such matters), the LWT spoke. "He's rather strong. I'll help you all out."

"It talked?" Tifa squawked.

"I'm not really surprised," Harry said.

"I'll talk as much as you want later, Miss."

"We'll take care of that monster," Cloud volunteered. "Somebody take Aeris somewhere safe..." He looked at Tifa, Barret, and Harry. "I'm counting on you, kid."

Harry nodded. He took Aeris by the hand and pulled her away as a massive, sickly-green monster stepped out of the tube.

"What's your name?" Cloud asked the LWT quickly.

"Hojo has named me, 'Red XIII.' A name with no meaning whatsoever to me. Call me whatever you wish," the LWT replied, bristling at the monster before them.

"How about just 'Red' for now?" Tifa remarked. Red XIII seemed to shrug its shoulders; at least, it rolled its shoulders, and Harry took it as a shrug.

"Come on!" Cloud ground out, ducking under a swing of the creature's long arm. He dashed in and countered with a stab before backing away from a surprisingly-fast counter-attack. Tifa glowed green and threw a bolt of lightning, which had little effect on it. Barret let loose an almost continuous stream of gunfire, which helped to slow the monster down. Red XIII stepped back and put his nose to the ground; he glowed green and cast a flashier, more-powerful looking version of Fire than what Cloud could do. Under the heat, the beast fell back.

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen," Harry smirked. Aeris giggled nervously, gripping her short staff from where she had kept it. "Hey...didn't they take that away when they caught you?"

"Nope. It's collapsible; they couldn't find it without extensive searching, which they didn't bother to do."

"Hmm...You know what? I don't think it would be appropiate if you told me where you hid it," Harry quipped. Aeris swatted the back of his head with a hand, but giggled nonetheless.

Under the continued assault of gunfire and two people casting Fire (or Fira, as Aeris called Red's version), the monster quickly succumbed and died. Cloud hurriedly scooped up the coins and split half of it with Red XIII.

"Aeris, are you all right?" Cloud asked her.

"She seems all right, in many ways" Tifa observed.

"I have a right to choose, too," Red XIII declared. "I don't like two-legged things."

"What are you?" Barret asked, somewhat rudely.

"An informed question, but difficult to answer. I am what you see," Red answered. "You must have many quesitons, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way."

"Cloud...so you did come for me," Aeris breathed.

Red XIII leaped over the railing toward the exit. He turned and looked at Aeris. "I apologize for what happened back there. I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard..."

"Speaking of Hojo, where did he go?" Harry wondered.

"Now we've saved Aeris, ain't no need to be in this buildin'!" Barret grumbled. "So let's get the hell outta here!"

"If all six of us go together, we'll be noticed. Let's break up into two groups," Cloud suggested. Barret and Aeris went with the mercenary; Red XIII and Tifa gathered around Harry.

"Don't forget, the elevator is on the 66th floor," Red remarked.

"We'll be going first! Meet at the 66th floor elevator," Tifa agreed.

Harry, Tifa, and Red went back down to lab elevator to the 67 floor. They blew through the corridors, flying past surprised employees and brushing past dazed guards. They more or less jumped down the stairs to the 66th floor, and immediately piled into an elevator; they were just about to press the 'Down' button when someone else boarded the elevator behind them. Harry heard the 'click' of pistols.

"H, hey! What is it?" Tifa asked.

"Would you press 'Up' please?" he asked.

Harry snorted confidently. "I'm new at cracking wisecracks like that, but even I can tell that one was bad."

"Turks? Must be a trap..." Red muttered.

"It must have been a real thrill for you..." another Turk mocked. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Ggh..." Harry groaned.

* * *

Harry: 'Ggh'? I'd never say that.

Don't worry; you only said it because there was a gun pointed at your back.

Sirius: Heheh.

Harry: Don't do that, Sirius. It's just...creepy.


	22. Imprisonment and Escape

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF. I've said that twenty-two times now; one would think people would get that through their skulls after the fifth time.

Sirius: You know you only put the disclaimer in every chapter so you don't get the pants sued off of you otherwise.

Not that anyone would really be able to get much if they tried to sue me.

Harry: That's not true. There's your Gamecube, your PS2, your PC, your -

holding a hand over Harry's mouth Thank you, Harry.

* * *

Their hands bound, Harry, Tifa, and Red XIII were led to stand before the President of Shinra, Inc., and his immense work desk. Harry couldn't help but comment.

"Geez, with a desk that big, one would think you're overcompensating, Mr. President."

Although Shinra ignored his jibe, Tifa leaned over and kicked his shin, leaving Harry wincing and bitterly wishing he could lean down and hold his wounded leg.

"You all got caught, too?" Cloud asked as he and Barret were brought in.

"Where's Aeris?" Harry asked the mercenary.

"In a safe place," Shinra answered instead. He got up from behind his overly-large desk. "She's the last surviving Ancient..."

"So we've heard," Harry muttered. He edged away from Tifa, who seemed ready to kick his shin again.

"Don't you know?" Shinra continued, once again ignoring Harry's taunt. "They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history."

"Cetra..." Red XIII mused. "That girl, is she a survivor of the Cetra?"

"Cetra, or the Ancients, will show us the way to the 'Promised Land.' I'm expecting a lot out of her," President Shinra concluded his speech.

"The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?" the lion-like creature question.

"Even so," Shinra shrugged, "it's just too appealing to not puruse. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. If the land is fertile..."

"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret finished.

The President nodded. "Exactly. That is why our money sucking Mako Reactor is a necessity. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-Midgar will be built. Shinra's new glory..."

Barret made a massive show of trying to pull his handcuffs apart with brute stength. "Quit fuckin' dreamin'!"

The President looked unimpressed. "Oh really, don't you know? These days, all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and science." He paused, then gestured toward the Turks surrounding the captive. "Well, that is all for our meeting."

"Come on, outta his way!" a bald, dark-skinned Turk pulled them away. Cloud, Tifa, Red XIII, and Harry all followed docilely.

"Hold it! I got a lot I wanna say to you!" Barret roared, struggling against three Turks as they dragged him along.

"If you need something else...talk to my secratary," President Shinra shot partingly.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure whether the guards were overconfident in themselves and their prison cells or if they were just stupid, but not a one of them thought to take their weapons from them (though in the case of Barret, Tifa, and Red XIII, they really couldn't). Nonetheless, their arms wouldn't do them any good inside their cells, since although Barret could possibly shoot the guard through the bars, he wouldn't be able to retrieve the keys to let them out. Harry bitterly wished, not for the first time, that he had his wand.

On a slightly different note, Harry was surprised to find himself thrown into a cell with Aeris; Cloud and Tifa were one cell next to them, while Barret and Red XIII were across the the corridor, directly opposite of Harry and Aeris.

"You alright, Aeris?" Harry asked.

The flower girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm all right." She had been lying down on her cot, but now she swung her legs over the side. "I knew you and Cloud would come for me."

"Well, Cloud is your bodyguard. I just happened to tag along," Harry joked.

"You were part of the deal. At least, to me," Aeris replied.

Harry blushed. "Um, I think I missed that." Aeris giggled.

"The deal was for one date, right?"

"Yeah..."

They were silent for a minute. "Hey Aeris, I've got a quesiton," Harry said.

"Shoot."

"President Shinra reckoned you know where the Promised Land exists. Does it really exist?"

Aeris shook her head. "I...don't know. All I know is...The Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. And...then...the Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked, confused.

"More than words...I don't know," Aeris replied.

"Just what does the Planet say, exactly?" Harry questioned.

"It's full of people, and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they're saying...most of the time, anyway. Once in a very rare while, it's kinda quiet for a change."

"D'you hear it now?"

Aeris shook her head again. "I...I only heard it at the Church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is...my real mother." She laid back down on the cot and stared at the ceiling. "Someday I'll get out of Midgar...Speak with the Planet and find my Promised Land...That's what mom would say. I thought I would stop hearing voice as I grew up, but..."

Harry furrowed his brow. "You know, that makes it sound as though the Promised Land is different for everyone; as unique to each person as that person is unique to themselves."

"You might be right, Harry," Aeris replied.

Harry didn't comment on how Aeris rhymed; instead, he just sat against the wall in the corner. "We may as well get some rest. Never know when an opportunity to escape will come, and we'll need our strength to seize it."

Harry didn't sleep all the well. It didn't help that he was sitting on a cold stone floor, trying to get comfortable by curling up in the corner. He kept dreaming that someone with long white hair and an even longer sword was storming through the tower, slaying almost all of the guards and eventually killing President Shinra. He was shaken away a few minutes later by a wide-eyed Tifa. "Huh...how did you open the door...?"

"No time for that now, Harry. Look, something horrible must have happened, and during it, the door to our cell was broken; Cloud's getting Barret and Red XIII. We can escape."

Aeris giggled. "Harry was right; you never know when an opportunity knocks on your door."

Harry just grinned lopsidedly. "Aw, so cute!" Tifa teased. Harry dropped his grin immediately.

"The hell's goin' on!?" Barret grumbled, coming out of his cell. Harry, Tifa, and Aeris joined him, Red XIII, and Cloud in the corridor.

"No human could've done this," Red XIII declared.

"I can think of a few people that could have," Harry shot back.

"Are you being overconfident about them?" the lion-like creature refuted him. "In any case, I'll go on ahead." With that, he padded off to investigate.

"I'll clean up back here, so you guys go ahead," Barret volunteered. "And don't get caught by Shinra!"

"As if we'd be stupid enough to get caught twice," Harry grumbled good-naturedly.

"Come on, let's follow Red!" Tifa beckoned. She, Harry, Aeris, and Cloud tread cautiously along the corridor, which was covered in blood and littered with corpses - some of which weren't whole. It was enough to make Harry a little green.

They found Red in the storage room where they had seen him imprisoned before. He was examining the broken stasis tank that had housed that Jenova creature. Cloud peered at it as well. "...Did it get away? Jenova...?"

"Jenova Specimen...Looks like it went to the upper floor using that elevator for specimens," Red XIII remarked. The five of them rode the elevator up and found a trail of blood, along with tons of wrecked machinery and deep gouges in the wall every so often. "Looks like it leads up..." the lion creature added, staring at the trail of blood with his remaining eye.

They climbed the staircase up to the 69th floor, then climbed up the final stairs to the President's Office on the top floor. Barret caught up with them there, gunarm out and ready to start firing, but he stopped short when he found the President leaning over his desk, a a long, skinny sword sticking out of his back. It looked familiar to Harry...did he dream about it at some point?

"He's dead..." Barret said dully. "The leader of Shinra, Inc. is dead."

Tifa went up and examined the sword. "Then this sword must be..."

"Sephiroth's!" Cloud gasped.

"...Sephiroth is alive?" Tifa asked.

Cloud nodded. "...Looks like it. Only Sephiroth can use that sword."

"Wait, why?" Harry asked. They looked at him. "Why can only this Sephiroth bloke use that sword? Why can't anyone else wield it? Is it enchanted to recognize him or something?" At the blank looks he was receiving, Harry relented, blushing. "Uh...nevermind...that was just..."

The awkward silence was broken by Barret. "Who cares who did it!? This is the end of the Shinra now!"

Just then, they heard a groan. The fat man from the meeting (still in his brown suit) appeared from behind a broken pillar along the wall and made a mad dash for the exit. Cloud and Barret leapt forward, catching him by the arms. "P, p, p, please, don't kill me!" he begged pitifully.

The reminder of Wormtail irked Harry, but he was calm enough to ask, "What happened?"

"Se...Sephiroth. Sephiroth came."

"Did you see him?" Cloud demanded. "Did you see Sephiroth?"

"Yeah, I saw him! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"You really saw him?"

"Uh! Would I lie to you at a time like this!?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Harry uttered dryly. His hand was gripping the hilt of Gryffindor's Sword.

"And I heard his voice too!" the fat man continued. "Um, he was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land."

"Then what?" Tifa asked. "Does that mean that the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?"

"So he's a good guy then?" Barret mused.

"Save the Promised Land? A good guy? No way!" Cloud denied vehemently. "It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"

A helicopter came down and hovered on the landing outside the big bay window. The fat man took advantage of their surprise to break free and fled outside.

"Rufus! Fuck! I forgot about him!" Barret growled.

"Who's that?" Harry asked.

"Vice President Rufus. The President's son," Cloud explained shortly.

"I wonder what kind of person he is..." Tifa wondered aloud.

"Probably not a whole lot different from his dad," Harry grunted.

"I've heard that no one's ever seen him bleed or cry," Aeris added.

"I heard that he's been assigned somewhere else for a long time..." Barret supplied.

"I only know his name," Red XIII said. Cloud led the way as they ventured outside onto the helipad. The fat man climbed into the copter as Rufus turned to them.

"So...So Sephiroth was actually here...By the way...who are you guys?"

"I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER First Class!"

"I'm from AVALANCHE!" Barret growled.

"Same here!" Tifa waved.

"...a flower girl from the slums," Aeris said softly.

A research specimen," Red growled, louder and more threateningly than Barret.

"I'm a real boy!" Harry cracked in a high falsetto. At the blank looks he was getting, he looked at the ground and scuffed his trainer. "Um, don't mind me."

"What a motley crew," Rufus muttered. He smoothed his hair with nonchalance. "Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc."

"You only President 'cause your old man died!" Barret cried.

"That's right. I'll let you hear my new appointment speech."

"You've got one written already?" Harry mused disbelievingly. "You make it sound as though you planned this."

Rufus' eyes flashed. "I would NOT kill my own father!"

Harry smirked. "Sure you would, if you could get away with, since it would mean you becoming the new President of a powerful corporation."

"Shut UP, you little brat!" Rufus snarled, pulling out a shotgun from somewhere. He aimed it at Harry, who smirked again before ducking away, dodging the pellets just before they were fired.

Over the resounding BANG of the single shot from Rufus' gun, Harry could hear Cloud and Barret snickering. The new Shinra President' hand shook as he struggled to rein in his rage. Eventually, he lowered his shotgun and began his rehearsed speech. "...Old man tired to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The popular thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside.

"But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man." He gazed out over the railing. "A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste good money on them."

"He likes to make speeches just like his father," Tifa snickered.

"He also intends to rule the world through fear. I knew someone just like that. He was ugly, too, which probably helped his image. Good thing I killed him, I guess," Harry added.

Cloud turned to them. "Get outta this building with Aeris!"

Barret blinked at him. "What?"

"I'll explain later! Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!"

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Barret grumbled.

"I'll tell you later! Just take my word for it for now! I'll go after I take care of him!"

"Awright, Cloud!" Barret, Tifa, Red XIII, and Aeris began to run back toward the stairs inside. Harry followed them for a few steps, before cursing and turning around.

"Harry!" Tifa called out.

"I'll go help him; Rufus has a shotgun. What does Cloud have? A really big sword," Harry shot back. "Don't wait for us if you get the chance to escape."

The others nodded and resumed running down the stairs. Harry glanced through the big bay windows of the President's Office and pulled his sword out. Cloud was ducking shotgun blasts while attempting to chop a guard dog in two. Harry smirked, then leapt through the glass.

* * *

Harry: You're making me act like some pansy joke cracker.

Sirius: I dunno, I thought it was pretty funny.

Well, you did say you wanted to crack more jokes, like your Dad, Sirius, and Gred and Feorge Weasley.

Harry: Yeah, but...those were really stupid jokes.

Sirius: Oh, leave it, Harry. I thought they were good. Especially the 'I'm a real boy!' one.

Harry: Sirius, do you even know where that line is from?

Sirius: waves dismissively Some Muggle fairy tale or another.

Harry: sighs Close enough...


	23. Highway Battle

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF.

Harry: I'd just like to say that I doubt I would ever jump through a glass window like in the last chapter.

Sirius: You probably wouldn't smirk, either.

Oh hush you two. It adds to the drama.

Harry: Whatever.

* * *

The tinkling of the shattering glass gave all three combatants a pause. Harry naturally took advantage of this surprise to slay the guard dog that was recovering quickly. After lopping off its head, Harry turned to Cloud and grinned. "You know, we really should stop meeting like this."

Cloud's surprised expression turned into a smirk. "Maybe. But you shouldn't do any dramatics. I'm the only one allowed to pull those."

"Where's the fun in that?" Harry quipped.

Rufus blinked and growled, pointing his shotgun at the two of them. Cloud dived one way, Harry dove the other. They safely avoiding the flying pellets. Cloud didn't stand up at first; he took a moment to cast an Ice spell at the new President of Shinra. A reddish color shield flickered around Rufus, reducing the effectiveness of Cloud's spell by half. "Damn," Cloud muttered, just loud enough for Harry to hear him. "He's got an Shell."

Harry climbed to his feet and charged in, swinging his blade up (nobody noticed, but the tip left a scratch mark in the ground). Rufus turned his shotgun sideways and parried it. Before he could react, Harry spun around and swung low, leaving a gash in Rufus thigh. Rufus fired his gun at point-blank range.

The BANG! echoed over the helipad as Harry fell back. He thought he wasn't hit, but he couldn't hear anything over the ringing in his ears. He looked up in time to see Cloud's giant sword smashing into the rifle, cleaving it in two and leaving Rufus without a weapon.

The helicopter zoomed down, just above the President's head. "Heh...that's all for today," Rufus sneered, jumping up and grabbing hold of the runner. The copter zoomed off, leaving just Cloud and Harry on the helipad.

"You alright, kid?" Cloud asked, pulling Harry to his feet.

"What?" Harry said loudly. He grinned and shook his head. "I'm fine. Not sure about my ears, but I'm okay."

"You shouldn't have come back, you know."

"And let you have all the fun? No way."

Cloud smirked. "Let's get going." Sheathing their swords, they ran inside and down the stairs to the elevator.

* * *

"Barret!" Harry's call to their friends stopped the bickering on the first floor.

"Harry!" Tifa called back. "Where's Cloud?"

Harry leapt over the railing. "Everyone, over here!" he beckoned, climbing onto one of the motorbikes parked on a display (Harry never got a straight answer from Cloud as to _why_ there was a truck and a pair of motorcycles inside the building.) Harry motioned for Tifa, Aeris, Barret, and Red XIII to climb into the truck.

"Huh? What's up? Where's Cloud?" Barret asked again.

"I'll tell you later! Hurry, hurry!" Harry cried, turning over the engine while his mind flashed back to Cloud's explanation of his plan to escape.

__

"Can you ride a motorbike, kid?"

__

"I never learned to ride a bicycle, but I have flown brooms. Shouldn't be too different, right?"

__

"Brooms?"

__

"Hogwarts thing. We do have motorcycles, but I've never driven one."

__

"Just grip the handlebars and rotate the grip forward to accelerate, and when the engine doesn't get any louder, pull the silver handle just past your fingers. That's the clutch. Oh, and one more thing: Lean into your turns, though you probably already do that with your brooms. So...don't fall over."

The engine turned over nicely. Tifa, who was in the driver's seat of the truck, started the engine as Cloud came roaring down the stairs and joined them, on his own motorbike that he must have swiped from a showroom on the second floor. He grinned at them, then squalled the tires on the tile floor before shooting up the stairs and through the window onto an expressway. Harry followed him, adrenaline pumping through his veins, and flew through the air, waved tauntingly at the Shinra soldiers below, and cleared the gap between the Shinra HQ and landed on the road evenly, bouncing only twice before the tires gripped the pavement. A loud SMASH was heard as the truck Tifa drove plowed through the glass as well, landing on the pavement behind him. Harry glanced back and found Tifa and Aeris in the front seat; Barret and Red XIII were in the back. With a whoop, Harry gunned the engine and took off after Cloud, Tifa following right behind him in the truck.

Harry's delight didn't last long. Shortly after they landed on the expressway, the sirens of the Shinra Motor Police (at least, that's what Harry dubbed them) caught up to them. Cloud dropped back alongside Harry and gave him a knowing look, pulling out his massive sword and driving with one hand. Harry nodded, getting the hint, and pulled his own blade out in his right hand. The two sword bearers let Tifa drive past them and droppd back to deal with their pursuers.

The Shinra chasing them didn't stand a chance. Cloud's big sword cut their bikes in two (usually slicing the driver at the same time) while Harry used his smaller blade with accuracy, slicing through handlebars, necks, and elbows with ease. "You know what, Cloud?" he bellowed over the roar of engines. "I don't think I've ever had this much fun!"

"Don't let your guard down, kid!" Cloud shot back, grinning. He stood up and kicked the motorbike alongside him into another, causing a pile-up behind them as they sped away to catch up with the others, stowing their swords away.

A low rumbling swiftly caught up to them, though. Harry glanced back and gasped. Behind them and gaining speed was a massive machine on spiked wheels, roaring toward them. Harry weaved through the sparse traffic, shifting the motorbike into its highest gear, and zipped past the truck. He looked ahead, and quailed; the expressway ended about five hundred meters ahead, slightly turned up like a ramp, out over Midgar city limits. Tires squealed as everyone slammed the brakes; Cloud and Harry turned their bikes sideways to keep from flipping head over heels (and possibly over the end of the street). They safely stopped with several meters to spare, but they now had to get out and combat the giant rolling menace behind them.

Barret and Red XIII jumped out the back of the truck. "Ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on now, boys and girls! Let's bust this thing up!" he cried, brandishing his gun arm. Tifa and Aeris climbed out and joined them.

"Right. There's six of us, and only one of it. Shouldn't be hard," Harry replied, sounding more confident than he felt. The machine chasing them took up the entire road, after all.

Speaking of which...the machine chasing them ground to a halt about three meters before them; they all jumped back to avoid getting nailed. Several panels popped open and swung aside, revealing long muzzles attached to fuel tanks, two long, sharp-looking blades, and a rotary gun. Tifa immediately cast Thunder, zapping the contraption. Barret unleashed a constant stream of gunfire, while Red XIII and Aeris stayed back, both casting Fire (well, Red was casting a more powerful version, otherwise known as Fira). Cloud alternated between slashing with his sword and covering the machine with an Ice spell, which turned to water after a Fire-type spell, and conducted the electricity from a Thunder spell. Harry ran around behind it (he didn't have to squeeze much between the side of the machine and the side rail) while reaching in through his Steal Materia and swiping a star-shaped pendant. He ducked under the spinning blades before poking a whole in the tires with his sword, immobilizing it.

Cloud and Barret paused their attacks to roll away from a stream of fire from the mechanical beast, while Tifa let loose with another Thunder spell. Red XIII cast a Fira spell directly at one of the tanks fueling the flame-throwers, causing it to explode. This, incidentally, caused the other tanks to blow up as well, and sent the machine up into the air and down into the slums below - to smash into a familiar looking church with a very familiar looking hole in the ceiling.

"The church!" Aeris cried.

"Eh heh...whoops," Red XIII bowed his head. Harry couldn't tell if he was blushing over not.

"Well...there's no point in worryin' 'bout it now. We're leavin' Midgar..." Barret grumbled. "It sucks, though..."

"I just hope there wasn't anyone in there..." Harry added.

"Well, what do we do now?" Barret asked.

"Sephiroth is alive...I...I have to settle the score," Cloud declared, looking off into the distance at a mountain range.

"And that'll save the Planet?" Barret asked again.

Cloud thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think so."

"Awright, I'm going," Barret agreed.

"I'll go too," Aeris remarked. "...I have things that I want to know."

"About the Ancients?" Harry prodded.

"...Many things."

"I gues this's good-bye, Midgar," Tifa joined in.

One by one, they climbed down a thick steel wire (Red XIII rode on Barret's shoulders, as Barret was the only one among them big and strong enough to easily bear his weight - not that he was exceptionally heavy). They stood just outside a massive gate that was the entrance to the Sector 5 Slums.

"I'm going back to my hometown," Red XIII supplied. "I'll go with you as far as that."

"...I guess this is the start of our jouney..." Tifa mused.

"It will probably be dangerous," Cloud warned. "You sure you want to go?"

"...Mmm...But, you know, it should be all right if you keep your promise," Tifa smiled warmingly at him. Cloud had the grace to blush lightly.

"You know what, Harry?" Aeris remarked. "This is the first time I've ever left Midgar."

"Me too, actually. Are you worried?" Harry asked.

"A little...no, maybe a lot. But I have my bodyguards, right?" Harry's blush was a bit more pronounced than Cloud's.

They were silent for a minute before Barret spoke up. "We told Aeris' mom to go somewhere safe, so Marlene should be safe, too. Right...?"

"Yeah, she should be," Aeris agreed. "She said she didn't want to stay in Midgar anymore...Maybe it's for the best."

"Then...I suppose the only thing left for us to do is...to go," Cloud said.

Barret began shadow boxing. "We need a group leader for our journey. 'Course only me could be the leader."

"You think so...?" Tifa grinned slyly.

"It would have to be Cloud," Aeris supplied, grinning at the mercenary.

Barret stopped abruptly and looked at the flower girl. He mumbled something; Harry didn't catch what. Then..."Awright...Go northeast to a town called Kalm. If something happens, we'll meet up there." He sat down. "'Sides, we can't really have six people strolling down the fields. Split us into two parties."

"Why split us up?" Harry argued. "There is safety in numbers, you know. Besides, if we're split into two groups, how can one group let the other know they reached the town or get into trouble or something?"

"It'll be easier to spot six people in a group than it would be to spot three," Barret refuted.

"You both make good points," Cloud said reasonably. "Still...the longer we stay here, the more likely we'll be found." He looked thoughtful for a minute. "Okay, Tifa, Aeris, you two are with me."

Barret smirked at Cloud choice of companions. "...Thouught you'd do that. Later, at Kalm!" With that, Barret, Harry, and Red XIII began walking towards the northeast (Harry was only slightly miffed at being summarily ignored, despite Cloud's diplomatic tone).

* * *

Harry: I still think I had the better point, though.

Sirius: Well, you do get your stubborness from both parents, you know.

James, Lily, and Harry together: We resent that remark.

Cor blinks When did Harry's parents get here?

James: Magic, Cor. Magic.

Harry and Lily: Groan


	24. Cloud's Story, Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF.

Harry: Finally run out of ways to phrase the disclaimer, Cor?

Yup. That, and I'm still chuffed over how your parents showed up last time.

Sirius: Same way that I did. The three of us are dead, after all.

Not what I meant, Sirius!

* * *

It was fairly obvious to all involved that Harry, though somewhat skilled in areas involving combat, was not at all prepared for days of walking to and from places. This was evident by the muscle cramps that Harry experienced the second morning after leaving Midgar, and had travelled several kilometers before they stopped.

"Ow. Ow ow ow," Harry groaned, slowly stretching out the muscles in his calves and thighs. Barret, who had spent the last few years in a single place (more or less), also had felt the strain, though no where as heavily as Harry. Red XIII and Barret both snickered at him, pausing now and then to give Harry tips and/or admonishment ("Roll yer feet as you walk; it lessens the impact on your legs" and "Maybe you should stretch out at the beginning and end of each day?"). Needless to say, Harry wasn't amused.

After a cold breakfast of dried fruits and some meat jerky (broken by the occasional snigger) the trio set off again. Their hiking only paused for lunch, short rest periods, and, of course, random encounters with various monsters intent on turning them into a mid-afternoon snack; most of these monsters quickly fell to Barret's gunarm, as he could easily pick them off from a short distance. Those Barret didn't get to, Red XIII's claws and fangs and Harry's sword made short work of.

Even with these tie-ups, Harry and his two companions reached a quaint little town shortly before sundown. Harry, though no architect by any stretch of the word or the imagination, was briefly amused that the town held a somewhat Dutch-looking appearance. "So...this is Kalm?"

"I wonder if everyone's there already?" Barret thought aloud.

"I doubt it; we set off before they did, and they may well have had the same problems we ran into," Red XIII replied. He smirked (well, as much as his features allowed him to, anyway) at Harry and added, "Muscle cramps, for instance."

"It wasn't my fault," Harry protested gamely. Despite the lion creature's reserve and apparent maturity, Harry was quickly becoming friends with Red XIII.

Barret led the other two into the inn which, conveniently enough, was placed right at the entrance to town. The large man placed a request for enough rooms to house six, and explained that the other three would arrive either in the middle of the night or, more likely, early the next morning. The request and payment accepted, Barret, Harry, and Red XIII climbed the stairs tiredly (though slowly in Harry's case). The three settled in for an easy night's rest while waiting for Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa to arrive. Harry, who was rooming with Red XIII (apparently, Barret noticed their growing friendship), got back up before falling asleep and, to the amusement of his lion-like friend, did some cool down stretches before crawling back into bed.

Barret's prediction turned out true. When Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa walked in, Harry turned to the large man and jokingly asked where his crystal ball was, and could he have his fortune read, please? Harry was smacked upside the back of his head by a glowing tail that belonged to a chuckling Red XIII.

"Yo man, you're late!" Barret called to Cloud.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," the merc replied shamelessly, rubbing the back of his blonde head. "Guess everyone's here now..."

"So let's hear your story..." Harry prodded. "You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the planet?"

"Let's hear it all," Barret agreed.

Cloud looked at his feet, then looked up at everyone as they got comfortable. "I...I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER. After working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends."

"You call that a friend?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well...He's older than me, and he hardly ever talked about himself," Cloud defended. "So...I guess you'd call him a war buddy...We trusted each other. Until one day..." he trailed off.

"...One day?" Aeris prompted.

Cloud turned away from the others, possibly lost in memories. "After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against the Shinra...that was five years ago. I was sixteen...It's kinda cliche, but I remember it like it was yesterday..."

**Flashback**

**Cloud, Sephiroth, and two Shinra soldiers were in the back of a military truck. The ride was bumpy as the driver drove along an old, practically-forgotten road, and the constant, pounding rain kept him from seeing the road as clearly as he probably would have liked. Sephiroth and the soldiers were sitting on crates; Cloud was pacing back and forth.**

**"It sure is raining hard," Cloud commented. He noticed a queasy expression on one of the guards. "Hey, how are you doing?"**

**The soldier made a dismissive gesture before sinking down lower. "I'm all right."**

**"I wouldn't know...I've never had motion sickness," Cloud replied. He turned to the other guard. "Everything okay?" He walked back to the center of the truck, prompting Sephiroth to look up at him.**

**"Hey." When Cloud turned to look him, Sephiroth smirked. "Settle down."**

**Cloud did some light stretches. "They gave me a new Materia. I can't wait to use it!"**

**Sephiroth chuckled. "...Just like a kid."**

**Cloud stopped stretching. "You going to brief us about this mission?"**

**Sephiroth regarded him with cool, blue-green eyes. "...This isn't a typical mission."**

**"Good!" Cloud barked.**

**"Why do you say that?" Sephiroth asked, calmly.**

**Cloud looked out the back of the truck. "I joined SOLDIER so I could be like you...but by the time I made First Class, the war was already over. My big hopes of becoming a hero like you ended with the war. That's why I always sign up whenever there's a big mission. Kind of a way to prove myself." He turned back to look at his superior. "Say, how do you feel, MISTER Sephiroth?"**

**"I thought you wanted a briefing?" the experienced SOLDIER chided. Cloud smoothed his hair in response, somewhat sheepishly.**

**Sephiroth's slightly playful tone took on a serious one. "Our mission is to investigate an old Mako reactor. There have been reports of it malfunctioning, and producing brutal creatures. First, we will dispose of those creatures. Then, we'll locate the problem and neutralize it."**

**Cloud tapped his foot in thought. "Brutal creatures...Where?"**

**"The Mako Reactor at Nibelheim."**

**"Nibelheim...That's where I'm from..."**

**Sephiroth nodded. "Hm...hometown."**

**A loud crash brought the truck to a sliding halt, rattling the entire vehicle. The driver turned to the back. "Sir...s, somthing strange just crashed into our truck!"**

**Sephiroth stood up. "That would be our monster," he grinned, drawing his sword. It was easily twice as long as its wielder was tall, and had a slight curve in the blade. Cloud pulled his shorter, wider blade from his back and they hopped out into the rain, splashing through mud. They found a large green dragon about to rear back and spew flames onto the truck. Sephiroth dashed in, drawing the dragon's attention, and ducked under the foreleg aimed at his face. Cloud took advantage of the distraction and attacked from behind, leaving a small gouge in the dragon's side. Cloud jumped back to avoid being smacked with the beast's tail. Sephiroth swung his sword with perfect timing and precision; the dragon's head fell to his feet, dissolving into a small pile of coins.**

**End Flashback.**

"Spehiroth's strength is...unreal. He is far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard about him," Cloud said.

"So...where do you come in?" Aeris asked.

"Me? I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought." He paused, then turned to look away. "And then, we reached Nibelheim."

**Flashback**

**Sephiroth approached the gate, then stopped and turned back toward Cloud. "How does it feel?" He motioned the town with his hand. "It's your first time back to your hometown in a long time, right? So how does it feel? I wouldn't know...because I don't have a hometown."**

**"Um...how 'bout your parents?"**

**"My mother is Jenova. She died right after she gave birth to me. My father..." Sephiroth trailed off into laughter before shaking his head. "What does it matter...? All right, let's go."**

**End Flashback**

"Yo, wait a minute!" Barret excalimed. "Isn't that, um...? The name of Sephiroth's mother...I remember Jenova. That's that damn headless spook livin' in the Shinra building."

Cloud nodded. "That's right."

"Barret, would you please let us hear what Cloud has to say? You can ask quesitons later," Tifa reprimanded.

Barret backed down. "Tifa, I was only..." Harry sniggered at the large leader of AVALANCHE, backing down to a woman not even half his size.

The bartender turned back to the blonde mercenary. "Okay Cloud, continue," she nodded.

"It's a reunion of childhood pals!" Aeris nearly squealed (Harry, who was sitting on the bed next to her, was glad she didn't, as it would have been right into his ear).

"...I was really surprised with Tifa," Cloud admitted. He paused, then continued his story. "...The town was quiet. Everyone must be staying in their houses, afread to come out because of the monsters. No...maybe they were afraid of us..."

**Flashback**

**"We leave for the reactor at dawn. Make sure you get to sleep early," Sephiroth explained. He opened the door to the inn, then stopped and turned around. "All we need is just one look-out, so you others, get some rest." A soldier quickly volunteered for watch duty. The others went inside. "Oh, that's right..." Sephiroth looked at Cloud. "You may visit your family and friends." Cloud nodded his thanks, which Sephiroth nodded in return before entering the inn. Cloud walked through the small town, stopping before a small, two-story house.**

**"My home..."**

**End Flashback**

"Yo wait, I wanna hear," Barret protested when Cloud stopped his narrative.

"It had...nothing to do with that incident five years ago," Cloud replied.

"Me too!" Aeris argued. "It's been a long time, right?"

"Tell us more, Cloud," Harry asked. "You saw your family, right?"

Cloud thought it over. "All right. I don't know if you could call it a 'family'..." He paused and took a breath. "My father...died when I was still very young. That's why my mom...was living alone in that house.

"Yeah, I saw my mom. My mom...she was a vibrant woman. Hadn't changed at all. But...a few days later, she died...but when I saw her, she looked fine." Cloud spoke about it so matter-of-factly, Harry briefly wondered whether he had truly gotten over it as much as he was trying to impress upon them.

"I'm sorry, Cloud," Harry said. "We shouldn't really have pushed you about it."

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it," the mercenary replied. "Anyway, I went next door to see Tifa after checking in with my mom."

"Cloud...did you go into my house?" Tifa asked, somewhat carefully.

Cloud nodded. "I thought you might be home, and the door swung open when I knocked. I didn't find anyone, though, so I left, shut the door, and went back to the inn."

**Flashback**

**Cloud was standing in the lobby of the inn, looking at an oddly-dressed man with a red cape. "And who are you? It's been five years since I moved from here to Midgar, but I don't remember you."**

**"I'm Zangan. I travel around the world teaching children martial arts." He accented this with a somersaulting leap over Cloud's head. "I have one hundred twenty-eight students all over the world! In this town, a girl named Tifa is my student."**

**Cloud started. "Did you say Tifa?"**

**Zangan nodded. "Tifa has good sense. She'll be a powerful fighter." Cloud closed his eyes in thought for a while, before nodding and going upstairs to his room. He ran into Sephiroth, who was staring out the window on the second floor.**

**"What are you looking at?" Cloud asked.**

**"This scenery..." Sephiroth responded cryptically. "I feel like I know this place..." He shook his head. "We have an early start tomorrow. You should get some sleep soon."**

**Cloud nodded. "Yeah, let's get some sleep."**

**"I've hired a guide to the Mako reactor," Sephiroth told him. "I've heard she's young. I hope we can rely on her..."**

**Morning found Sephiroth, Cloud, two Shinra guards, and various townspeople gathered in front of an old, abandoned mansion that still, despite the ravages of time, retained some of its old splendor. "Once the guide gets here, we're heading out," Sephiroth told Cloud.**

**One of the men stepped forward. "Listen to me, Sephiroth. In case something happens..." he trailed off, looking fearful.**

**"Trust me, she'll be fine," the SOLDIER reassured him.**

**Tifa's voice sprang up behind them. "I'll be all right, Dad! I have two men from SOLDIER with me." She turned to Sephiroth. "I'm Tifa. Nice to meet you!"**

**Cloud was in shock. "Tifa! You're the guide!?"**

**Tifa giggled at him. "That's right. I just happen to be the number one guide in this town."**

**Cloud shook his head. "It's too dangerous! I can't involve you in something like this!"**

**Sephiroth turned to Cloud, smirking at the protectiveness. "Then there's no problem if you protect her. Let's go."**

**"Umm..." Before anyone could walk off toward the SOLDIERs' objective, a photographer stepped forward. "Mr. Sephiroth! Please let me take one picture for a momento!" He whispered to Tifa, "Tifa, can you ask him for me too...?"**

**Cloud and Tifa stand next to each other before the gate of the mansion. Sephiroth reluctantly joined them. Once the picture is snapped, he stepped away. "Great, thank you!" the photographer gushed. "I'll give each of you a copy one I get it developed!"**

**End Flashback**

"I know how he feels," Harry remarked, grimacing. "I...guess you could say I'm pretty famous where I'm from. I hated having so much attention lapped onto me like that."

Everyone nodded. Cloud continued. "There was a Mako Reactor built in Mount Nibel. The cold air of the mountains of Nibel...It was no different from the last time I had climbed them..."

**Flashback**

**Sephiroth, Cloud, and Tifa stop for a moment at a rickety rope bridge. "It gets harder from here! Follow me!" Tifa encouraged, running ahead. Cloud and Sephiroth catch up near the opposite side, when a loud snapping sound was heard. "Uh, the bridge!" Tifa cried.**

**The bridge broke near the middle. Cloud grabbed Tifa's hand, holding her up, and held onto the rope with his other hand. The three of them fall, followed by their two guards. After a rough landing, everyone stood up at the foot of the canyon, though one of the guards was missing.**

**"Everyone seems to be all right," Sephiroth noticed the lack of injuries. He appeared somewhat thankful for that. He turned to Tifa. "Can we get back to where we were?"**

**Tifa nodded. "The caves are intertwined, just like an ant farm...Oh, and there seems to be one person missing."**

**Sephiroth looked thoughtful, but only for a moment, as he considered this. "It may sound cold, but we've got no time to search for him. We can't go back now, so we must go on. We'll travel together from here."**

**The party traveled along the path and entered a cave. They stopped inside to briefly admire the colored, sparkling walls. "What's this?" Cloud asked.**

**"A mysteriously colored cave," Tifa giggled.**

**"It must be the Mako energy," Sephiroth reasoned. "This mountain is especially abundant in it. That's why the Mako Reactor was built here." They continued through the cave (stopping once for Sephiroth to efficiently kill a small pack of falcon-like monsters) and stopped before a beautiful, glittering fountain.**

**"And what's this?" This question was, once again, posed by Cloud.**

**"A Mako fountain," Sephiroth replied. "It's a miracle of nature."**

**"It's so beautiful..." Tifa gasped. She sighed as she walked up to the side of the fountian. "If the Mako Reactor continues to suck up the energy, this fountain will dry up too..."**

**Sephiroth joined at the fountain-side. "Materia...When you condense Mako energy, Materia is produced. It's very rare to able to see Materia in its natural state."**

**Cloud joined them. "By the way...why is it that when you use Materia you can also use magic, too?"**

**"You were in SOLDIER and didn't even know that?" Sephiroth admonished him. Cloud looked sheepish for a moment. "...The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in Materia. Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the Planet, calling up magic...or so they say."**

**"Magic...a mysterious power," Cloud mused. Sephiroth began laughing. "Did I say somethin' funny?"**

**"A man once told me never to use an unscientific term such as 'mysterious power.' It shouldn't even be called magic!" Sephiroth chuckled. "I still remember how angry he was."**

**"Who was that?"**

**"Hojo of Shinra, Inc. An inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist. He was...a walking mass of complexes."**

**Tifa looked up at them. "A Mako fountain...So this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is..."**

**They set off once again. They quickly arrived at the reactor. "We finally made it," Tifa panted lightly. "We sure took the long way, though."**

**"Tifa, you have to wait here," Cloud ordered.**

**"I'm going inside, too! I wanna see!" Tifa protested.**

**Sephiroth, at that moment, was halfway up the steps, with Cloud right behind him. He looked over his shoulder at Tifa. "Only authorized people are allowed in. This place is full of Shinra's industrial secrets."**

**"But!"**

**Sephiroth ignored Tifa's protests and turned to the remaining guard. "Take care of the lady." He and Cloud walked inside, ignoring Tifa's cry of 'Better take real good care of me then!'**

**Cloud and Sephiroth climbed down a ladder and enter into the main room of the Reactor. It is bathed in red light. Several metal pods are aligned in rows, each with a clear glass window to look through. Sephiroth climbed the stairs in the center of the room and stared at the door, above which was the word, 'Jenova' inscribed on a plate above the door.**

**"This is...Jenova, right? The lock won't open..." Cloud muttered, mostly to himself. He followed Sephiroth back down the stairs, stopping when his superior examines one of the pods.**

**"This is the reason for the malfunction. This part is broken," Sephiroth mused. "Cloud, close the valve." He walks away to another pod, looking through the window as Cloud does as ordered. "Why did it break...?" He peered through the glass. "Ah...now I see, Hojo. But, even doing this, will never put you on the same level as Professor Gast."**

**Sephiroth turned to Cloud. "This is a system that condenses and freezes the Mako energy...that is, when it's working correctly. Now, what does Mako energy become when it's further condensed?"**

**Cloud looked thoughtful. "Uh, umm...Oh yeah! It becomes a Materia."**

**Sephiroth nodded. "Right, normally. But Hojo put something else in there...Take a look. Look through the window."**

**Cloud, shorter than Sephiroth, hops up and grips the pane of the glass with his fingertips and pulls himself up. He sees a hideious, grossly unnatural monster. He lets go in shock and falls to the floor, landing on his rump. "Wh...what is this!?"**

**"Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako," Sephiroth explained, looking away at the pod. "You're different from the others, but still human. But, what are they? They've been exposed to a high degree of Mako, far more than you or I."**

**Cloud unsteadily climbs to his feet. "Is this some kind of monster?"**

**Sephiroth nodded. "Exactly. And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced these monsters. Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what these monsters really are."**

**"'Normal members of SOLDIER'?" Cloud repeated. "You mean you're different?" Sephiroth gripped his head, trembling. Cloud reached forward in a comforting gesture. "H-hey, Sephiroth!"**

**"N...no..." Sephiroth protested, slowing stopping his trembling. "...Was I...?" He drew his sword (promptly causing Cloud to jump back) and begins to furious attack the pods. "Was I created this way too!?" Another slash. "Am I the same as all these monsters...?"**

**"Sephiroth..." Cloud called.**

**Sephiroth stops attacking the pods with his sword after a long moment, his shoudlers heaving. Several of the pods are now slashed open, spilling their contents when Sephiroth's blade sliced through them. Even their occupants, those pads that had them, were not spared. "You saw it! All of them...were humans..."**

**"Human!?" Cloud repeated. "No way!" he denied.**

**Sephiroth looked at Cloud, sword still in hand. "...I've always felt, since I was small...That was I different from the others. Special, in some way. But...not like this..." He looked down, shaking his head. They were interrupted by a loud noise; they jerk up. One of the pods exploded with a hiss of steam. The front half falls forward, revealing another monster similar to the one Cloud saw. It lies on the overturned dome of metal, not fully formed but twitching. Sephiroth, somewhat coldly, puts it out of its misery.**

**End Flashback**

"'Am I...human?'" Cloud repeated softly. "I didn't quite understand what Sephiorth was saying at that time. I was even more surprised by the fact that Shirna was producing monsters."

"Damn, Shinra! The more I hear, the more I hate 'em!" Barret roared.

"...Who would have ever thought the Mako Reactor held a secret like that?" Tifa wondered.

"That would seem to explain the increase in the number of monsters recently," Red XIII reasoned. "I think we should listen carefully to Cloud. Don't you think so, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. But, maybe we should take a breather?"

"Sounds go to me," Aeris agreed.

* * *

Hermione shivered. "That's...just wrong."

"It's amazing, the depths of depravity that a man can sink to," Remus mused.

Ron spoke up. "But Cloud and Sephiroth...they fixed the doo-hickey that was causing the problems, right? So those monsters aren't being produced anymore, right?"

Tonks grimaced. "Possibly. But they were there five years ago. A lot can happen in five years..."

* * *

Ugh. I'm not sure I care for this particular section.

Sirius: I can understand why. I'm also glad you split this part up into two.

Harry: No kidding. How are your wrists feeling after typing so much, Cor?

They're pretty sore.

Sirius: Hey, that rhymed!

Thank you for pointing out the obvious once again, Sirius.

Sirius: smirk Heh heh.


	25. Cloud's Story, Part Two

Harry Potter and the Meteor Crisis Chapter Twenty-Five: Cloud's Story, Part Two

...

Harry: No disclaimer, Cor?

No, not anymore. If anyone wants to read it, they can check the previous chapters.

Sirius: hums Whatever you say.

* * *

"Tifa...you were waiting outside then?" Aeris asked after a few minutes.

"...Yes."

"We returned to Nibelheim. Sephiroth confined himself at the inn," Cloud eventually resumed his tale. "He didn't even try to talk to me."

"Then, all of a sudden, he just disappeared, right?" Tifa prompted.

Cloud nodded. "We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim."

"The villagers used to call it 'Shinra mansion,' Tifa supplied.

"Long ago, people from Shirna used to live in that mansion," Cloud agreed.

**Flashback**

**Cloud nodded to the various townspeople that had gathered outside the Shinra mansion before turning and going through the front door. The inside, though time had begun its offense, was not as broken down yet as the outside. Several floorboards creaked as Cloud stepped across the room, climbing the stairs to the second floor. He found a guard at the door to one of the bedrooms. "There's no sign of Sephiroth, but I know I saw him go into this room..."**

**Nodding his thanks, Cloud entered the room. He immediately noticed the discolored brick from the fireplace, and pulled it out. There, in the recess behind the brick, was a door handle. Cloud turned it and pulled, opening the secret door. He climbed down the spiral staircase and walked through the short, dark cave. He reached the secret library, where Sephiroth paced back and forth, absorbed in a book.**

**"...an organism that was apparently dead, was found in a two thousand year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova..." Sephiroth read aloud. "X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient...X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor No. 1 approved for use..." He stopped and looked upward, not seeing the ceiling. "My mother's name is Jenova...Jenova Project...Is this...just a coincedence...?" He looked down. "Professor Gast...Why didn't you tell me anything? Why did you die...?"**

**End Flashback**

"Sephiroth didn't come out of the Shinra Mansion..." Cloud said. "He continued to read as if he were possessed by something, and not once, did the light in the basement go out..."

**Flashback**

**Cloud awoke suddenly, lieing on a bed in the second floor bedroom of the Shinra mansion. Following the feeling in his gut, he walked to the bedroom, past the guard, and through the secret door. He entered the library only to hear a maniacal laughter once he opened the door. He found Sephiroth seated at a large desk, surrounded by books. Several shelves have fallen down, while others were bereft of books. "Who is it!?" Sephiroth asked, sensing his approach. When he saw it was Cloud, he added, "Hmph...traitor."**

**"Traitor?" Cloud repeated, shocked.**

**"You ignorant traitor," Sephiroth taunted again. "I'll tell you." He stood up. "This Planet originally belonged to the Cetra. Cetra was...an itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on...At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness." Sephiroth faced Cloud. "But, those that disliked the journey appeared. Those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the Planet had made without giving one whit in return!" Sephiroth looked straight into Cloud's eyes. "Those are your ancestors."**

**"Sephiroth..." Cloud called softly.**

**"Long ago, disaster struck this planet," Sephiroth continued, ignoring the blonde SOLDIER. "Your ancestors escaped...They survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase. Now, all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports."**

**"What does that have to do with you?" Cloud asked.**

**"Don't you get it?" Sephiroth mocked. He walked around Cloud and faced the hallway. "An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of two thousand years ago. The Jenova Project...The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients...no, the Cetra." Sephiroth stood up to his full height. "I am the one that was produced."**

**"Pr...produced?" Cloud gasped.**

**"Yes," Sephiroth confirmed. "Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me." He began to walk toward the stairs.**

**"How...how did he...?" Cloud asked, running to keep up with Sephiroth. When he wasn't answered, he called, "Se...Sephiroth?**

**"Out of my way. I'm going to see my mother." He walked determinedly out of hte library. Cloud followed him out of hte mansion. By the time Cloud exited the front door, the entire town was consumed in flames, smoke reaching high into the sky.**

**Cloud entered the courtyard and found Zangan tending to an injured person lying on the ground. "Hey, it's you!" he called. "You're still sane, right?" Cloud nodded. "Then come over here and help me!" Cloud ran over, leaping over a piece of flaming debris. "I'll check this house. You check that one over there!" he ordered before rushing through the flames into the Inn. Cloud turned and found his mother's house almost completely destroyed. He dashed in, only to find his mother's body already burnt, almost beyond recognition. He came out, shaking his head sadly.**

**"Terrible...Sephiroth...This is too terrible." He heard some shouts, and turned to find Sephiroth gutting two of the townspeople who confronted him. When Sephiroth disappeared through the flames, Cloud came back to his senses and ran after him.**

**Cloud found Tifa kneeling at the entrance to the pod room in the Mako Reactor, and a long, thin sword was on the floor nearby. A man lies before her, dead. "Papa..." she wept. She hugged the corpse. "Sephiroth!?" She straightened up. "Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he!?" She slumped forward. "Sephiroth...SOLDIER...Mako Reactors...Shinra...Everything!" She sat up, furious. "I HATE THEM ALL!" She stood, grabbed the sword, than ran into the pod room.**

**Tifa brandished the too long sword in her hands at the base of the steps. "How could you do that to Papa and all the townspeople!?" she cried, rushing up in a blind rage. Sephiroth turned and wrestled the blade away from Tifa with ease, then cut her down. The sound of ripping flesh echoes in Cloud's ear as Tifa falls, almost in slow motion, to a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs. Cloud kneels by her as Sephiroth, bloodied sword in hand, opens the door at the top of the stairs.**

**"You promised..." Tifa whispered, seeing Cloud's face. "You promised that you'd come...when I was in trouble..." Cloud picked up her body gently, and carefully leans agianst one of the pods, then rushes up the stairs, after Sephiroth.**

**"Sephiroth!" Cloud bellowed, pulling his sword. "My family! My hometown! How oculd you do this to them!?"**

**"Ha, ha, ha...They've come again, mother," Sephiroth chuckled, talking to the bizarre female form hidden behind odd angelic armor. He stopped laughing and spoke again. "With her superior power, knowledge, and magic, Mother was destined to become the ruler of this Planet...But they...Those worthless creatures are stealing the planet from Mother...But now I'm here to with you, so don't worry." Sephiroth reached forward and with application of his inhuman strength, ripped away the armor, tearing it in two, revealing Jenova's true form, a fragile, alien woman with blue skin, as though she had been frozen for many years.**

**Cloud stepped forward, brandishing his sword. "What about _my_ sadness!? My family...friends...the sadness of having my hometown taken away from me!? It's the same as your sadness!"**

**Sephiroth chuckled evilly. "My sadness? What do I have to be sad about? I am the chosen one. I have been chosen to be the leader of this Planet. I have orders to take this planet back from you stupid people for the Cetra. What am I supposed to be sad about?"**

**Cloud turned away. "Sephiroth...I trusted you..." He shook his head and looked up, a fire in his eyes. "No, you're not the Sephiroth I used to know!"**

**End Flashback**

"...and that's the end of my story," Cloud concluded.

"Wait a damn minute!" Barret protested. "Ain't there more?"

Cloud shook his head. "...I don't remember."

"What happened to Sephiroth?" Harry asked.

"In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed him," Cloud replied.

"Official records state that Sephiroth is dead. I read it in the newspaper," Tifa supplied.

"Shinra, Inc. owns the newspaper, so you can't rely on that information," Aeris argued.

"...I want to know the truth," Cloud said suddenly. "I want to know what happened then. I challenged Sephiroth...and lived. Why didn't he kill me?"

"I'm alive, too," Tifa agreed.

"Seems like a lot of this doesn't make sense," Aeris wondered. "What about Jenova? It was in the Shinra building, right?"

Shinra shipped it from Nibelheim to Midgar," Cloud answered.

"Did someone else carry it out after that?"

"It _was_ missing from the Shinra building during our escape," Harry added.

"Sephiroth...?" Tifa suggested.

There was a pause as they digested this. Barret burst out, "Damn! Don't none of this make sense! I'm going, going, going, gone! And I'm leavin' the thinkin' to you!" He stopped at the door. "Yo, Cloud! Let's get a move on!"

"Right..." Cloud muttered half-heartedly.

"Yo, c'mon let's go!" Barret beckoned, running out the door.

"Oh, brother..." Cloud shrugged.

"...Cloud?" Tifa called. The mercenary turned his attention to her. "How bad was I...when Sephiroth cut me?"

Cloud looked down. "I thought you were a goner...I was really sad."

"I..." Aeris began. "The Ancients, Cetra, Jenova...Sephiroth and myself..."

"Let's go. Barret's waiting for us," Tifa interrupted. They left, leaving Red XIII and Harry behind before they stood up.

"What a fascinating story," the lion-like creature commented.

"Yeah. And I thought my stories were interesting..." Harry agreed, walking behind him.

Downstairs, Barret was passing out what looked like Muggle cellphones (to Harry at least). "Here. The PHS will put us in constant contact with each other." Once everyone set their numbers up (Harry's was six-two-four-four-two, ironically enough), Barret added, "Awright then, we're outta here."

The six stepped outside and were immediately drawn to the attention of a guy in brown yelling at the top of his lungs. "Listen to me!" he cried. "Just now, some guy in a black cloak walked east toward that grassy field - you know, the one near the Mythril Cave? And he's got this killer sword, and looked REAL scary..."

"It's probably Sephiroth. That description sounds like him," Cloud muttered. They nodded before going to the shopping district for supplies.

In the equipment shop, Harry found a nice Mythril armlet with five slots, four of which were paired off. Taking out the requested amount of coins (he'd been saving up his share of the money, which was called gil, from the slain monsters) and purchased it. He was about to sell off his leather gauntlet when an idea occurred to him. He turned to Red XIII (who was with him at the moment, over in the Materia section of the store) and asked, "Can't I use both the bracelet and gauntlet at the same time and carry more Materia equipped that way?"

"No, Harry," came the reply.

"Why not? They don't occupy the same spot on the arm or anything..."

Red XIII turned from browsing various Materia and padded over to him. "I don't know the technicalities (I'm not sure _anyone_ does, to be honest), but something about how the Materia interacts with your body through them tends to cancel itself out when you try to equip more than one piece of equipment that goes on that area of the body. For example, you can equip Materia on a bracelet, your weapon, and a helmet, and not have a problem, but equip Materia on a bracelet and a gauntlet, and you can't use the Materia set in either."

"Oh..." Harry blinked. "Well, that bites." He turned, set his Materia in his armlet, and sold the gauntlet (for less than half the price of the Mythril armlet, but that wasn't a surprise, and getting some back was better than getting nothing back at all - not that Harry used gil to buy the leather gauntlet anyway).

Harry glanced at the various Materia that was on sale, as well. As it was, he only had Cover and Steal, and he reckoned having a Materia that held a more direct effect would be a good idea. He didn't look at the Fire, Ice, or Bolt Materias, since the group he was in already had at least one of those; instead, Harry conversed with Red about the pros and cons of Restore, Revive, and Heal Materias. The party already had a Restore Materia (it had been equipped on Barret when Harry and Cloud fell from the No. 5 Reactor in Midgar) but having a second one seemed wise, at least to Harry. He would have liked to obtained a Heal, as well (once Red XIII explained its function, Harry understood it to be similar to a _Finite_ or a _Finite Incantatum_ spell, if only at differing levels of strength), but he didn't have enough money on him for both. He hadn't chosen which to get yet, when Red mentioned that, since they had a Restore Materia but not a Heal, and since all Materia 'clone' themselves once fully developed, he should purchase the Heal now so that they would be covered should someone get poisoned or paralysed or suffer some other debilitating effect. And since the Heal Materia was cheaper to boot, Harry found he had enough money left over to purchase an Earth stone, which granted him access to a trio of spells (well, eventually it would be a trio) that caused minor earthquakes to damage foes. Red XIII warned that Quake (as the spells were known as) were completely useless against any enemy that floated or flew.

Once everyone had stocked supplies and purchased new equipment (mainly the Mythril armlets, as they held more Materia slots than anything they had already), the group left Kalm around noon in two groups of three; the PHS soothed Harry's previous worries about splitting up. Nonetheless, Barret switched groups with Aeris ("I dun wanna hear the kid bitchin' about muscle cramps again" was the excuse he gave; Harry startled him with a Quake spell in retaliation, causing everyone to laugh when Barret jumped three meters into the air in surprise. Cloud cheerfully wondered aloud how someone so large could be so graceful). They then headed to the east, resuming the journey once more.

* * *

And finally, Cloud's story is finished, along with the twenty-fifth chapter on top of that.

Sirius:laughing A six foot man jumping nine feet in the air...Wish I could have seen that.

Harry:chuckling Technically speaking, Siri, you _did_ see it.

They all fall about laughing

Harry:Once laughter dies down So Cor...I've been curious. You know how, in the game, the characters are given numerical values to represent their strengths and weaknesses in combat?

Yeah? What, you want to know how you compare against them?

Sirius: Not that I understand it, but I've been curious about it too, now that you mention it.

Let me put it this way. Harry's Str(ength) stat isn't as high as Cloud or certainly Barret's, but he's stronger than Tifa or Aeris (though Tifa is close, being a martial artist and all). He's actually about the same level as Red XIII. His Vit(ality) is much higher than Tifa's, and a little less than Cloud's, actually. I think that means he's more resistant to physical attacks than Nanaki.

Sirius: Huh? Str and Vit?

Harry: In game terms, Str is a measure of how much damage a character would with a physical attack, liking slashing with a sword or punching someone. Vit, on the other hand, is how well that character would resist damage from the same kind of attacks.

Sirius: Ah. So what's the Int and Spr stats for?

Int(elligence), besides being how smart someone is, is the numerical representation of how magically powerful a character is. His intelligence as we know it notwithstanding ducks a smack to the back of the head he's magically more powerful than everyone but Aeris and Cait Sith, who the party will meet later.

Sirius: Makes sense, being a wizard and all.

Harry: Yeah. Spr, shortened from Spirit, is the measure of resilience from magical attack.

Heh, Harry does make a good teacher, doesn't he? Anyway, Harry's Spr also benefits from his being a wizard; as such, he's got more Spr than the rest of the team. MBarrier is practically useless for him, since he's so naturally resistant to magic.

Harry: I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.

Finally, Harry's Dex(terity) and Eva(sion) are higher than everyone else's, too, thanks to the reflexes he gain from playing Quidditch, though Red XIII tops him easily in terms of speed, a.k.a. Dex.

Harry: He would, considering he's got twice as many legs.

Sirius: Eva is self-explanatory, but how does the agility of one come into play here?

You've never played Dungeons and Dragons, have you, Sirius? Sirius shakes his head no. Agility, sometimes called Dexterity, really only figures into how many times a character can act in a round of battle. In classical turn-based RPGs, anyway. With the ATB of Final Fantasies 7 through 9, and 10-2, Dex or Agi affects how often they can act in a battle, since ATB-style battling isn't as strictly turn-based as classic D&D.

Sirius:sigh I almost regret asking this question.

Harry: But you didn't ask. I did.

Anyway, Harry's Luck stat is astronomical; he's the most successful with the Steal and Mug abilities, and is the most likely to score Critical Hits to do double damage on any monster he attacks.

Harry: Heh heh. I won't argue with the obscene amount of luck I have.

Sirius: You're a _Sirius_ly lucky guy, Harry.

Too bad that won't help him later, at the end of what the game calls Disc One. blinks Oh, did I say that outloud?

Sirius: What? What?

Previous Chapter. Chapter Index. Next Chapter.  
Story Archive.  



	26. The Mythril Mines

Sirius: So, what happens in this chapter?

shrug Well, Harry and Co. cross the marsh and traverse the Mythril Mine.

Harry: We won't run into any Balrogs, will we?

No...I don't think so. You're referring to the wrong series, Harry.

Harry: Sorry, but I couldn't help but to check.

No prob, dude.

* * *

The walk to the grassy plain and the marsh, and by association the Mythril Mine, was easily the longest hike Harry had ever attempted. Naturally, with each day of travelling, the number of muscle cramps Harry experienced reduced in frequency and severity. It also helped that he stretched his legs a bit before setting off and after stopping for the night.

It was the second night after leaving Kalm when Red XIII confronted Harry. "You know...in the Shinra building, you did not appear surprised at all the first time I spoke, where the others were stunned." He studied Harry briefly through his eye. "I am not the first creature capable of conversation that you've met, am I?"

"No, you're not," Harry nodded. "Where I'm from...there are several magical creatures intelligent enough to think and act for themselves, including speaking." He started listing them off. "There are the merpeople, house-elves, centaurs, acromantulas (assuming you can actually get one to speak before they eat you), and goblins."

"I see," Red closed his eye thoughtfully. "Perhaps...it is that lack of surprise from you that has led me to trust you more readily than others."

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," Aeris quipped.

Harry chuckled at the flower-girl. "You know, there was a...play, back where I'm from, that contained that exact line. I never saw the whole thing, but I thought that line in particular was pretty cool."

The conversation turned to lighter matters for the rest of the evening, and in the morning (the third from Kalm) they set off once more. Just after lunch, Harry got the chance to try out his new Earth Materia for real.

As it happened, they had been fighting off squirrels that popped up from underground to throw rocks at them all day, save for when they stopped for lunch. Harry and Red were quickly getting frustrated when the little pests kept ducking underground to avoid their attacks (Aeris kept chuckling at them in between casting Fire, since she more powerful with magic than with whacking stuff with her staff - though that did hurt). His patience sapping quickly, Harry called to the Eart Materia set alone in his armlet and chanted, "Quake!" A rumbling sound was heard as the ground opened up beneath one of the squirrels, tossing it up into the air before setting back to its previous state. Red leapt forward, catching the blighter in his jaws before it hit the ground, and shook it savagely, quickly breaking its back and killing it. Red spat out the corpse and watched it transform into gil with supreme satisfaction. The rumble of the earth frightened the other squirrel off, but Aeris caught it in a Fire spell before it could get away. It, too, dissolved into gil.

Harry smiled grimly. "That felt kinda good."

Red smiled back. "Not as good as it felt to me, Harry."

"I'll have to use that more often," Harry added.

Aeris shook her head, giggling. "Boys and their toys..."

Shortly before they stopped for the night, they encountered a stronger (but just as annoying) monster. This creature looked rather a lot like a bundle of green onions, but instead of making a person tear up, they infuriated someone when they gave one a small cut with the blade of its grass. Admittedly, this meant that people would get a small boost to their strength courtesy of the adrenaline, but they missed slightly more often. The anger typically brought one to their Limit Break more quickly, as well, as Harry found out when, out of nowhere, Red glowed orange and dashed forward, generating waves of blue energy. He launched himself as the irritating weeds, almost literally _ripping_ through them, leaving them little more than cut grass. The creature dissolved into a small pill bottle with the label that read 'Hyper.'

Aeris picked it up. "Huh...well, whatever."

"What's a 'hyper' do, Aeris?" Harry asked.

"They do one of two things. If you're inflicted with Depression, which makes you lazy and slothful, this will cure you," she explained. "On the other hand, if you're not suffering from any abnormal status, this will cause Fury, which Red is in right now. Notice how he's looking around for more enemies to defeat?" Harry nodded; Red indeed looked rather murderous, though he was shaking as he attempted to control his bloodlust. "The spell Esuna, a Tranquilizer, or a Rememdy item will cure Fury. Didn't you buy a Heal Materia, Harry?"

"I did..." Harry checked the green stone. He shook his head. "It only holds Poisona, though."

"That's not surprising," Red growled. "New Materia, which is what is bought at stores, will only have the basic-level spells."

"Okay. Oh, but I think I might have a Remedy," Aeris announced. She dug through her item bag, and finally pulled out a bottle. She gave it to Red XIII, who quaffed it by turning it up in his mouth, twisting the cap with his tongue (he let that fall out onto the ground) and swallowing the potion inside.

"Wow, Red, that's impressive how you opened the bottle like that," Harry muttered when his four-legged companion calmed down.

"I've had lots of practice," Red replied nonchalantly. Almost immediately, his trembling ceased as he no longer had to control himself.

After that, they fought more carefully, as they didn't have anymore Remedies, and no one had had the finances to buy a small supply of the expensive stuff after purchasing their upgraded equipment (Harry especially was low on cash after buying an armlet and two Materia). Harry reached his own Limit Break the next day, on the edge of the grassy plain, and he realized it when he sword glowed orange. He was tempted to try a different spell, but nothing worked until he shrugged and said, "_Reducto._" Like before, a red spark flew forward from the tip of Gryffindor's Sword and, once it hit the squirrel-creature he'd aimed at, blew it apart mercilessly.

Red XIII smirked. "That will show him to throw rocks at us, eh, Harry?"

"Damn straight," Harry agreed.

It was noon on the fifth day when they happened upon the edge of the marsh. There weren't any trees or other tall shrubbery, except for what may have been a lone tree on the other side, so they could peer across. "That ain't going to be fun to cross," Harry groaned.

"It's better than a sewer, Harry," Aeris argued. "But not much," she amended at Harry's look.

"I heard that the Mythril Mine is across this very marsh. I also heard," Red warned, "about the Midgar Zolom, who lives in this marsh." He looked around the marsh, and sniffed the air. "I don't smell it, though; I smell a faint coppery odor. It's faint, but it smells like blood."

"Somehow, I doubt Sephiroth would be slowed down too much by this Zolom," Harry mused. "If he is as strong as Cloud says he is, he probably sliced it in half lengthwise or impaled it on a tree or something."

"If that's the case, most people would be happy with the death of that miserable creature," Aeris remarked. "I definitely am; I don't want to have to fight a giant snake, let alone in its home marsh."

"Snake, huh?" Harry grinned. He wondered to himself whether he could still speak Parseltongue here. He wasn't in any particular rush to find out, though...at least not with a snake as large as a Basilisk.

"Let's go. Soonest begun, soonest done, and all that," Red chuffed. They cautiously stepped into the marsh, but when they weren't attacked by giant snakes after a few minutes of slow progress, they felt it safe enough to cross. Aeris called Cloud on the PHS and let him know about the mysterious disappearance of the Zolom...

...Only to drop the phone on the dry ground beneath the tree they had seen earlier. The great snake's head was impaled on the lone, dead tree, its blood still trickling down the bark. "Did Sephiroth...do this...?" Harry asked slowly.

"Our enemy is someone that could do this...?" Aeris breathed.

"We should respect this kind of power," Red muttered darkly. He brightened up and chuckled at Harry. "Are you psychic, Harry? You did say that Sephiroth impaled the Zolom on a tree."

"I never would have thought those Divination classes would amount to any use," Harry mused, mostly to himself. He shook his head. "Whatever."

While Aeris called Cloud to let him know where to find the Midgar Zolom, Harry and Red took a closer look. "Looks like he took the gil and any items, too," Harry guessed.

They entered the Mythril Mine a few minutes past the impaled Zolom. The mine was brightly lit (as any mine should be, Harry thought wryly to himself) and was - despite the rumors - bereft of monsters. Harry commented on such.

"Seems deserted," Red agreed. Naturally, a dragonfly (with emphasis on the 'dragon' part) appeared and breathed a stream of fire at them. Harry and Red jumped out of the way; Aeris leaped back out of range. "I spoke too soon," the lion-like creature chuckled darkly before leaping up and swatting the creature down to the ground. Harry dashed forward and ran his sword through it before it could take off again.

They resumed their trek through the mines. It wasn't a maze as Harry feared it might be; it was fairly linear. A couple of branching paths ended shortly (they found a Hi-Potion at the end of one). They entered a large, open chamber and were stopped by a "Just a second!"

They looked up to find a sharply dressed black man with a shaved head and shades. "Who are you?" Harry asked.

"Do you know who am I?" he asked.

Harry peered at him. He blinked as realization dawned on him. "From the Turks, right?"

The man nodded. "Well, if you know, then this won't take long..." He looked uncomfortable. "It's difficult to explain what the Turks do..."

"Kidnapping, right?" Aeris cut in.

"To put it negatively...you could say that," he grunted. "But, that's not all there is to it, anymore." He looked at the floor, seemingly unable to continue.

"Sir!" They looked up to a higher ledge, where a blonde woman in a similiar suit saluted. "It's all right, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!"

Rude nodded. "Then Elena, explain."

Elena turned to Harry, Aeris, and Red. "I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elena. Thanks to what you did to Reno, we're short of people. Although...because of that, I got promoted to the Turks."

Harry smirked and interrupted her, "So, what you're trying to say is that you owe us, since because of us you got promoted? You're welcome, lady."

Elena glared at him for interrupting. "In any case, our job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed. And to try to stop you every step of the way." She shook her head. "Wait a minute, it's the other way around. You're the ones that are getting in our way."

Harry shook his head. "You're confusing yourself."

"Elena...you talk too much," a voice agreed solemnly. A long-haired man came out of a corridor (Harry could dimly see sunlight coming from that entrance).

"Mr. Tseng!?"

"No need to tell them about our orders," Tseng chided gently.

"Sorry...Tseng."

"I thought I gave you other orders. Now go. Don't forget to file your report."

"Oh, right!" Elena clicked her heels in salute. "Very well, Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbor!"

Harry and Aeris chuckled (well, Aeris giggled) as Tseng sighed in exasperation. "...Elena. You don't seem to understand."

Elena gasped and blushed. "Oh! I'm, I'm sorry..."

Tseng decided to ignore it for now. "Go. Don't let Sephiroth get away."

"Yes sir!" Rude and Elena saluted. They left through separate exits. Before he left, Rude turned and remarked, "Reno said he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed. He wants to show his affection for you all...with a new weapon."

"What is it with the bad guys and calling out threats and promises of harm as they flee from the good guys?" Harry mused out loud.

"Well, then..." Tseng turned to them. He looked at Aeris; the flower-girl met his gaze. "Aeris...Long time no see. Looks like you got away from Shinra for a while, now that Sephiroth reappeared."

"...So what are you saying?" Aeris questioned. "That I should be grateful to Sephiroth?"

"No..." Tseng shook his head slowly. "Well, I won't be seeing too much of you, so...take care."

"Strange...hearing that from you," Aeris shot back.

"Well then...stay out of Shinra's way," Tseng cautioned before leaving the way he came.

Harry looked questioningly at Aeris. The flower-girl shook her head in a 'later' sort of way. Harry shrugged before leading them toward the vine that would take them to the sunlit corridor Harry noticed earlier, but there was a problem - neither Aeris nor Harry could lift Red XIII and still climb the vine.

_If only I had my wand..._ Harry thought ruefully. It was eventually decided that Harry and Aeris would have to carefully bear Red's weight between them as they climbed. However, this lead to the discussion of who should be on the bottom. It was true that Harry was physically stronger than the flower girl, and that logic would dictate that he would be on the bottom to bear most of Red's weight. On the other hand, Aeris was wearing a dress, and despite much blushing on Harry's part, was slightly uncomfortable with climbing something above another guy. Red jokingly suggested that, should Harry try to sneak a peak, Aeris could bop him over the head with her staff.

After many (blushing) promises not to look on Harry's part, and an agreement that Red would keep an eye on him to ensure that he would do so (Harry was quite sure Red would say that he _did_ look whether he did or not, just to see him get bopped; Aeris promised to bop the lion-like creature if he did), they finally agreed that Harry, being the stronger of the two, should carry the majority of Red's weight by being on the bottom. After Aeris climbed a few feet up the (thankfully) short vine, Harry gave Red a boost to get his forepaws onto the flowergirl's shoulders, while his back paws pressed down onto Harry's shoulders. It was in this formation that they slowly climbed the vine. Once they got to the top, Red pushed off both pairs of shoulders and nimbly leapt onto the ledge. Aeris quickly climbed on and rubbed her shoulders lightly before helping to pull Harry up. Harry rubbed _his_ shoulders quite a bit more deeply than Aeris had rubbed hers; his were more likely to bruise since he bore more weight than the flower-girl. Nonetheless, once the three were on the ledge, they continued their journey through the mine and quickly found themselves outside once more.

Ignoring Red's playful suggestion of bopping Harry for good measure anyway, Aeris stretched before sitting down on the grass, suggesting they stop for the night. As the sun didn't have too much longer before it fell below the horizon (the sky was beginning to turn red) Harry and Red agreed. They got a small fire going and, after eating, rolled out their bedrolls and settled in for the night.

* * *

Harry: I don't think I would blush as much as you made me out to, Cor.

Sirius: I think you would, Harry. When it comes to women, you're as shy and nervous as Moony ever was.

Remus: _I_ was just being a gentleman, Padfoot. Unlike you, I might add.

Cor blinks I _have_ to find that door everyone keeps getting in here through, so I can shut and bolt the darn thing.


	27. Waterside Rescue

Sirius: So, what happens in this chapter?

Harry gets his L1-2 Limit Break. Oh, and he nets another fan.

Harry: groans Not another one!

* * *

The next three days of travel were uneventful for Harry, Aeris, and Red XIII, save for once incident. Since the monsters in the area seem to have a deep dislike of Harry in particular, he reached Limit Break several times, casting the Reductor Curse each time (and consequentially blowing up the monster that attacked him last). However, after about the eighth time this happened, Harry didn't cast the Reductor.

Instead, the spell that flew from Gryffindor's Sword was a strong Bat-Bogey Hex, which seemed to cause Poison and Panic on the entire enemy party, as well as a little bit of initial damage (not near as much as the Reductor, but Harry supposed the status effects made up for the difference). Of course, seeing a monster's bogeys fly out of what passed for its nose and attack it promptly left Aeris and Red XIII in stitches.

The group of bird-like monsters that was attacking them at that point were frenzied, suffering damage and attacking each other at the same time. This is what made Harry laugh, since the creatures offed themselves, saving the group from killing themselves.

"That...was...funny!" Aeris panted, still giggling uncontrollably.

Harry smirked. "I didn't expect to cast that spell, but I'll admit it was a good one," he agreed. "And it made them kill themselves for us."

After setting off on the fourth day, they reached a dismal little town. A rotting wooden sign proclaimed it to be 'Junon Town.' Someone had taken paint and added 'Old' at an angle right before the word 'Junon.'

Harry was taken aback. "What happened to this town? It's so...run down..."

A passer-by stared at them. "Wow, now this is rare. We almost never have anyone other than the Shinra people visit this town." He then answered Harry's question. He motioned toward a pillar standing up out of the water, reaching to a massive plate extending out from the cliffside. "Ever since...Shinra built that city up above during the war...ugh...There's been no fish in the water! It got so polluted...phew..." He shook his head sadly.

"Hey...did you see a man with a black cape?" Harry asked.

"Hmm...I've never seen that feller before," was the reply. Aeris thanked the man before the three went down to the water for a closer look at the pillar.

They found a pre-teen girl standing there, ankle-deep in the water. "He-y! Mr. Dolphin!" she cried. She jumped up and down as a dolphin swam up to the edge, greeting her. "My name is...Pri-scil-la! Now you say it."

Harry couldn't help but grin. "That's kind of cute," he said softly. Aeris nodded in agreement.

The girl turned to them, hearing his remark. "Who are you guys? Are you member of the Shinra, Inc.?"

Aeris shook her head. "No, you're wrong. We have nothing to do with the Shinra."

"...That's how it is," Red agreed.

"I don't believe you!" the girl cried hostilely. "Get out of here!"

"Great..." Harry sighed.

A large rumbling sound reached their ears. "Look at that!" Red cried.

A huge sea creature came roaring out from the depths. It came toward them. Priscilla ran forward, swinging her fists and calling out, "Be careful, Mr. Dolphin!"

"That's a mistake," Harry groaned.

He was correct. As soon as the words left Priscilla's mouth, the sea creature swung a tentacle, sending the girl crashing into the water nearby. When she didn't get up, Harry, Red, and Aeris ran forward, with Aeris yelling, "Hey, hold on! We're coming!"

"Red, can you and Aeris distract that thing long enough for me to pull the girl to safety?" Harry asked as they ran down the last steps onto the sandy beach.

"I think so. We'll only be to cast fire on it, though, since it's too high for any of us to attack normally," the quadruped replied. "My Limit Break will still work, though, should I need it." Harry nodded.

"We'll hold it off, Harry," Aeris agreed, her staff out. "Save the girl."

"Right." Harry broke away from them as they engaged the creature (Red's Sense Materia revealed it to be Bottomswell, and weak to both Fire and Thunder-element attacks). Harry splashed through the water, searching for Priscilla. When he didn't find her right away, he started to panic. When he was waist deep, he took a deep breath and plunged underneath the waves. He was slightly surprised when the salty ocean water didn't sting his eyes anywhere near as much as he thought it would; it was easily bearable for the time it would take to find a girl in this shallow water. He found her half a minute later, unconscious and slowly floating away from the shore just underneath the surface. As Harry swam out to pull her in, he felt a cold, rubbery nose push him forward, speeding him toward the girl. He glanced back and saw the dolphin. "Thanks, mate," he shot the sea mammal a smile before grabbing Priscilla and pulling her head above the water. While Harry had only ever really learned the backstroke and the breaststroke, he wasn't doing too badly with what he was told was called the side stroke. It helped, though, that the dolphin was helping to push them back towards the shore.

Once Harry and Priscilla reached water shallow enough for him to stand, Harry lifted the girl in her arms and looked up at the sound of gunfire. An older man had come along and, after seeing what was happening, pulled a long-barrel rifle and opened fire on the creature. As Harry laid Priscilla down on the sand on her back, he heard a large splash as the creature was slain.

Harry felt for a pulse. "She's not breathing!" he cried. The man dropped his rifle and ran up to her.

He too, felt for breathing, and when he couldn't find any signs of it, he looked at Harry. "Nope, she's not...that's it! Young man, CPR, now!"

"Mouth to mouth?" Harry asked.

"Harry, hurry!" Aeris called.

"But..."

"What, you don't know how?" the man asked. Harry nodded, somewhat bashfully. "Just take a deep breath, hold it in. Then breathe into her. Hurry up and do it!"

"Alright..." Harry nodded. He took a deep breath, than placed his mouth over Priscilla's and slowly released his breath into her lungs. He repeated this about five times before the girl began to cough.

"Uh...ugh..."

Harry stood up and backed away. The man called, "Hey, hey! Priscilla, are you alright?" He picked her up and ran off back toward town. Harry, Red, and Aeris followed more slowly. They found themselves under study by the townspeople. After being led en masse toward a house, they found the man from the beach waiting for them. "Sorry, but Priscilla needs to rest for a while. She should be fine by morning."

"It's alright," Harry replied, somewhat embarrassed by the scrutiny. "What's important is that she's safe..."

An old woman stepped forward. "We've heard what happened, young man. You've done so much for Priscilla, and you all must be tired. If you want some rest, you can stay in my home," she offered. She brought them into the house at the edge of town, fairly ignoring their protests. "Make yourselves at home." After that, she left.

"Well..." Harry sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Want to rest?" Aeris asked.

"Yeah...but I probably need to dry off, first," Harry replied. "I went swimming in the ocean, if you recall." With that, Harry slipped into the loo and, finding a towel, dried himself off as much as he could. He pulled out a spare set of clothes from the travel pack he had received before leaving for the Sector 5 Reactor in Midgar from Barret (Harry was grateful for the man's foresight) and changed, then hung his wet clothes over the tub to dry. He came out and laid down for a while.

* * *

"Hey, Harry, wake up."

Harry opened his eyes to see Tifa looking down at him. "Oh, uh...hi," he offered weakly as he pulled his glasses on.

"So how is our hero doing this morning?" she teased.

"Morning? But it was barely noon when I laid down..." Harry said softly, confused. "Was I asleep...since then?"

Tifa nodded, giggling softly. "Yeah. Red suggested waking you up when Cloud, Barret, and I got here, but Aeris said that we should let you sleep."

"Right..." He stood up and stretched, causing Tifa to wince when some of his joints popped particularly loudly.

"Anyway..something seems strange outside," Tifa added. "Harry, come quick."

Harry nodded and grabbed his clothes (now completely dry, and clean, too!). He folded them quickly and stuffed them into his pack before following Tifa outside to the house he thought Priscilla was resting yesterday.

"The sleeping hero awakes," Aeris called. Harry blushed, causing everyone to chuckle at him. "I heard that girl regained consciousness."

"That's good," Harry said meekly. He suddenly heard what sounded like trumpets in the distance. "Hey...d'you hear that?"

"Everything is getting so noisy all of a sudden..." Tifa agreed, all teasing aside.

"Seems like something's goin' on up there!" Barret remarked.

"Does this have something to do with the Shinra?" Red asked.

A door was heard closing. They looked up to find Priscilla slowly walking down the stairs. "Are you all right now?" Cloud asked.

The girl looked at Harry shyly. "Umm...thanks for helping. I...I'm sorry I mistook you for one of those Shinra, Inc..."

"It's fine," Harry waved it off.

The girl nodded to herself. "I'll give you something _special_! It's an amulet. Take good care of it, ok?" She thrust a red Materia into Harry's hand.

Almost immediately, a comparatively cool voice whispered in Harry's ear. _Shiva. A Summon entity of the frigid north. Shiva's 'Diamond Dust' attack causes ice elemental damage to all enemies. Gives a slight incrase in magical power, but reduces stamina a little._

"Shiva, huh..." Harry muttered. "Okay...thanks."

The music that Harry could just barely hear increased in volume ever so slightly. "What's that music?" Barret asked. "It sure sounds lively."

"I heard they're rehearsing the reception for the new Shinra president," Priscilla offered.

"Rufus!? I gotta pay my respects," Barret grinned, somewhat savagely.

"Grandpa and grandma told me this beach was beautiful when they were small," Priscilla explained. "But after the Shinra built that city above, the sun stopped shining here, and the water got polluted...I was raised on that story and hate the Shinra so much, I could die!"

Harry wasn't sure what to make of that statement. None the less, Aeris asked, "You think Rufus is thinking about crossing the ocean from here, too?" The flower girl blinked. "Does that mean Sephiroth already crossed the ocean?"

"Cloud, Harry?" Red asked. "Did you not finish Rufus off?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, he ran away after I broke his shotgun."

"We gotta get to the town up there...Mebbe we could climb that tower?" Barret suggested.

Priscilla shook her head frantically. "No! NO! There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower. Don't wander near it, it's dangerous! But...you might be able to if Mr. Dolphin helps you Follow me!" With that, she grabbed Harry's arm and hauled him down to the beach. Harry's companions followed, chuckling.

"High voltage tower..." Tifa mused on the sand once they caught up with Harry and Priscilla. "I guess this means Cloud'll be allright."

"Yeah, better leave it to Cloud!" Aeris agreed.

"We're counting on you, Cloud!" Red added.

Cloud shook his head in protest. "Hey! Wait a second!"

"Here..." Priscilla pulled a whistle out and blew it. The sharp note pierced the music and echoed over the water. Then, with a splash, the dolphin leapt up into the air...high enough to leap over a girder attached to the tower.

Harry gaped. "Whoa!"

"Now ain't that something! I ain't never seen no dolphin jump like that!" Barret growled, similiarly surprised.

"Pretty cool, huh? When I blow this whistle, Mr. Dolphin jumps for me," Priscilla said. "Here! This is for you, Harry."

She handed Harry the whistle. "But...Cloud was going to..."

"Just go into the water, blow this whistle, and Mr. Dolphin'll jump to the top of the pole!" Priscilla pointed at the tower. "See that rod sticking out at the top? If you jump just right, you can climb to the top of the town."

"Good luck, Cloud! If you make it, we'll follow you," Harry said, giving the whistle to Cloud.

"Whoa, I'll hold the PHS for you," Barret said, taking the phone. "It'll break if it gets wet."

Cloud sighed. "Alright, fine." He swam out to the base of the tower. Once he positioned himself, he brought the whistle to his lips and blew. The dolphin swam up underneath him and threw him up into the air (Harry thought he saw Cloud's lips form the words 'Oh shiiiiiiiiit!') before coming back down with a splash. Cloud reached out and grabbed the red girder Priscilla pointed out, then hauled himself up. He waved down at them, before leaping over to a ladder and climbing up.

"Well, that's that," Harry said. "Cloud made it; we should get going, too."

"I saw some Shinra soldiers guarding a massive gate in the cliffside," Red offered.

"Reckon it might be an elevator?" Harry mused.

"Let's take it up and sneak in. We'll figure out what to do when we get up there," Barret suggested. Priscilla waved them (or, more specifically, Harry) goodbye as they passed her house. Red and Harry snuck around to the cliffside out of sight of the guards, then sidled over and attacked. Red killed his guard, and Harry, looking over at him, shrugged before running his sword through the guard's back from behind.

Barret opened the gate and they slipped in, closing the gate behind them. Tifa pushed the button to take them up, and before they knew it, they were in Shinra Junon proper.

* * *

Well, that takes care of that.

Harry: groaning Please make her stop.

Priscilla: Harry! Harry! Harry!

How the heck she get in here?

Sirius: smirks

I saw that, Sirius!

Sirius: Saw what, Cor?

...


	28. All Aboard!

I don't own HP or FF.

Harry: I thought you weren't doing any more disclaimers?

Old habits die hard. Sirius is a prime example of that.

Sirius: Oi!

* * *

"You don't look too bad in that, Harry," Tifa giggled as Harry came out in one of Shinra's sailor uniforms. Their plan was to sneak on board a ship heading across the sea, using Shinra uniforms as disguises. Tifa was already in a soldier's outfit (albiet a woman's version) while Red had found a male's suit. Everyone else found themselves in sailor suits. Red's outfit, however, was currently tied around his neck. He would put it on later, and perform some two-legged dance routine on the ship's stage during the trip. Tifa would 'keep watch' on an eagle's nest, while Aeris and Harry would pretend to work down in the cargo bay. They planned to sneak in during the parade, where Barret figured Cloud would be dragged into.

"At least I don't look like a giant marshmellow," Harry chuffed, tilting his head in Barret's direction.

"I heard that ya little runt!" the leader of AVALANCHE growled amid laughter. "This happens to be quite comfortable, so shu'up!"

Harry sniggered. "Whatever. Let's get on the ship before we're found."

"Right," Aeris agreed.

"Lead the way, Harry," Red butted him with his head.

"Hey!" Barret groused. "Why does he get to lead?"

The five snuck along the alleyways, heading toward the harbor. Harry waved for them to stop suddenly, just in time to watch a quartet of soldiers go by, one of which carried a large, familiar sword. Cloud gave them a quick nod before following the other soldiers. Harry watched as, one by one, they snuck into formation right on the television cameras. Harry sniggered when Cloud was slightly off-time with the rest of the soldiers, but he quickly turned and resumed heading for the ship.

They passed under a massive elevator several hundred meters ahead of the front of the parade. With the ship in sight straight ahead, they made a mad dash down the street. Out of breath, Harry slammed his palm on the panel, causing the doors to open. Barret knocked out the guard on the other side and dragged him out of sight while Tifa took his place. Barret and Aeris boarded the boat ahead of Harry and Red, the latter pair taking extensive cover behind the crates in the cargo hold. Harry shifted a bit more to his right and found himself with a full view of the landing. He ducked back when a superior-ranked officer came down and told Tifa to prepare to announce President Rufus. The officer was followed by Cloud and two other soldiers, and they stood in formation.

"Announcing, President Rufus of Shinra!" Tifa called out, opening the door. Out walked Rufus and the fat man in green.

"Ready...begin!" the captain bellowed, calling different sequences of salutes. Cloud and the soldiers performed them admirably, Harry supposed, though he had to stuff his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing when neither Rufus nor his companion recognized Cloud's massive sword.

_Really, who else uses a sword that size?_

At the end of the salutations, Rufus nodded. "Well done. Keep up the good work for Shinra, Inc."

"Gya haa ha...! Here's a special bonus for you!" the bearded man laughed hoarsely. "A token of the President's kindness! Don't forget it!" He hurled a purple Materia at Cloud, who allowed it to strike his chest before catching it. He stowed it away discreetly into a pocket.

Rufus faced the boat. "Once the word gets out that Sephiroth's here, Cloud and his friends will show up, too." He turned toward his companion. "We can't have them get in our way."

"Leave it up to me, sir!" the rotund man vowed. "Gya haa ha!"

"I thought I told you to stop that stupid laugh..." Rufus scolded him before boarding the boat, passing right by Red and Harry's hiding places.

"Gya..." The President's companion made some threatening motions toward Cloud, but the boat's whistle sounded. He jumped, startled, and ran onto the boat as fast as his legs would allow.

"Dis-missed!" the officer bellowed. He and the other two soldiers left, completely forgetting about Cloud. He was joined by Tifa as they jumped onto the boat in time to avoid being left behind.

Harry waited until it felt like the boat had finally left the dock before helping Red into his uniform. Once Red was clad in his blue soldier's uniform, Harry carefully set the helmet on over his face. It was an extra large helmet to accomodate Red's muzzle, but once it was on, Harry secured the straps so it wouldn't fall off.

Red XIII thanked him quietly before slipping up the stairs when no one was looking. Harry stepped out into the light and began walking around, looking busy. He was promptly yelled at to grab a mop and start washing the deck. Harry complied silently.

When Cloud passed by him some time later, Harry whispered, "Psst, Cloud!" The blonde turned toward him. Harry slipped Cloud's PHS into his hand. "Barret handed it to me earlier. Thought you might like it back."

"Thanks, kid."

"That was a nice performance in the parade, Cloud," Harry teased, dumping the mop into the bucket of water once more.

Because of the helmet, Harry couldn't see Cloud's face flush. "Shut it!" he hissed before leaving to check in with the others up top. Harry chuckled to himself.

It was about three hours later, when Harry's arms were since past tired from mopping, when an alarm sounded. "Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found! I repeat. Suspicious character found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!"

Harry dropped the mop and found Aeris. "Damn, did they find us?" he whispered.

"Hey, that don't seem like us. Do they mean...Tifa and the others?" the flower girl replied.

"Let's go up and meet them," Harry suggested. The two climbed the stairs and found everyone.

"Everyone all right?" Tifa asked.

"You all right?" Barret shot back.

"Huh?" That was Aeris.

"Everyone's here," Harry remarked.

"Hey, wait," Barret said. He glanced around. "You don't think that suspicious character is...Sephiroth?"

"Really?" Tifa gasped.

"How the hell am I supposed to know!?" Barret grumbled.

"Let's find out," Cloud suggested.

"It's the most logical thing to do," Red XIII agreed, once again on all fours (which Harry admitted to himself looked fairly ridiculous, as Red was still in his soldier's garb). "Then, who's going to go? Some of us will have to keep in sight to draw attention from those who go."

Cloud thought it over. "Alright. Red XIII, kid, you two are with me." The three shed their disguises and readied for battle, just in case. "Sephiroth..." Cloud mused. "All right, let's go!"

Back down in the cargo hold, blood was spilt over most of the crates as well as the floor and walls. "Dammit, I just washed the whole damn floor, too!" Harry groused.

"You can always wash it again," Red cracked.

"Not bloody likely," Harry grumbled.

One soldier they came across wasn't quite dead yet, though he obviously didn't have much time left. He looked at them, not recognizing them, and said, "...Engine room...suspicious...character...No...there's no way...that...not a human...That thing's not human..." His head dropped back down to the ground with a soft thump and a small splash as it landed in the growing pool of blood. Harry reached down and closed his eyes.

The trio entered the door in the back of the cargo hold and stepped into the engine room. More corpses were lieing there, most against the walls. A lone captain stood against the engine, his back to the door. "Is it...Sephiroth?" Cloud asked. The officer turned around slowly and looked at them, before falling over, his life giving out. Cloud shook his head. "No...not Sephiroth!"

A disembodied voice resounded softly in their ears above the engine. "...After a long sleep...the time...time has...come..."

Harry pointed at the engine where the officer lay on the floor. "Look, Cloud!"

A tall, silver-haired man rose up from the beneath the floor. His steel blue eyes were colder than the metal they were named after, and he was wearing a long, black coat. In one hand, he held a long, slim sword that Harry recognized from Shinra H.Q.

"Sephiroth! You're alive!" Cloud gasped.

Sephiroth looked at Cloud blankly. "Who are you?"

"You don't remember me?" Cloud asked. "I'm Cloud!"

"Cloud..."

"Sephiroth! What are you thinking? What are you doing?" Cloud demanded.

"...the time...is now..."

"What are you going on about?" Harry growled, sword in hand. "Be more..." Harry was cut off, however, when the figure of Sephiroth rose and crashed into the three of them, sending them to the floor before soaring up, through the ceiling and escaping. He dropped...a tentacle on the floor before them. When Harry stood up, he took a step closer to look at it, but jumped back when it began to glow. It eventually changed shape, taking on the appearance of...

"Is that...Jenova?" Red asked.

"But...how?" Harry breathed. "I don't understand."

"Whatever it is," Cloud said, "it's attacking. Watch out!"

The three of them jumped away when Jenova fired a laser beam at them. Cloud dashed in and hacked with his sword, leaving a gash in the abomination's side. Red cast Fira, while Harry reached forward and pulled out a white cape. Harry looked at it stupidly for a moment before looking up in time to duck a laser aimed at his head. He rolled away and tucked the white cloth into his pack for later examination. Red XIII cast Fire again, before jumping up to avoid being shot. Cloud cast Blizzard, cooling Jenova off too quickly to be pleasant. Harry ran forward and stabbed at what appeared to be a leg. He jumped back to avoid yet another laser, then cast Quake. The floor rumbled and opened up, throwing Jenova into the air and slamming her back down into the ground on her back, pinning most of her laser guns (for lack of a better word) beneath her. This left her defenseless, and permitted the trio to make short work of her.

With a flash of light, Jenova was reduced down to a tentacle once again. It pulsated for a minute before lieing still on the floor.

"Jenova...The arm of Jenova," Cloud muttered. "So, it _was_ Sephiroth."

"He said something about it being time for something," Harry volunteered.

"Time is...now?" Cloud mused.

"I don't get it," Red complained. "Hey Cloud. Can you explain it to us?"

"I'll try, but don't interrupt me while I'm explaining," Cloud agreed. He turned away. "Sephiroth went off searching for the Promised Land, so he could become the ruler of the planet...that was five years ago. Then, Sephiroth came back and killed President Shinra." He looked at them. "And then, just now, all of us saw Sephiroth. He was carrying Jenova with him...This much I do know. He told me he wants to go to the Promised Land with his mother, Jenova...I guess that's about it."

Harry shrugged. A voice came over the intercom. "Dock workers...we will be docking in Costa de Sol in five minutes. Please prepare for docking."

"We should get out of here before we're found," Harry suggested.

Red knocked a red Materia around the floor when he took a step toward the door. Cloud picked it up. "It's Ifrit, a summon entity of fire." He offered it to Red. "You want it?"

"...No, I already cast the fire element. I don't need a second way of doing so," he replied. "Harry has the Shiva Materia, as well, and he can't equip any more with his current armlet."

"Alright, I'll give it to Barret later," Cloud said, pocketing it. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

And so the party defeats the first incarnation of Jenova.

Harry: Way to spoil it for everyone, Cor.

Meh, anyone who's played the game will know to expect to fight Jenova a grand total of four times.

Jenova: Braaaaaaiiins.

Sirius: Ah! How the hell did she get in here?

Damn bloody door. Anyway, stand back, you two. I'll take care of this. Cor pulls out his twin short swords and attacks.

Harry: Here! Casts Incendio at Jenova's head

Cor decapitates the zombie and wipes off the black blood with a cloth. He then burns the rag That takes care of that.

Sirius: And I'll take care of the corpse. Vanishes Jenova's body

Sephiroth: Mother!

Oh shit. It's Sephiroth. RUN!

Sirius: Aw, we can take him.

Harry: Shut up, Sirius!

Cor smacks Sirius upside the head then drags him away, Harry fleeing beside him. Sephiroth chases them awhile.


	29. City of the Sun

My feet are cold.

Harry: What? What has that got to do with the price of tea in China?

Sirius: Huh?

Cor and Hary: Muggle expression.

In other words, 'What has that got to do with anything'

Sirius: Oh.

* * *

Everyone slipped off the ship with ease, clad in their personal clothes again. "Damn! Sure is hot here!" Barret complained loudly. "But I sure feel better now that I can say good-bye to this sailor suit." He looked at everyone. "Yo, listen up! Y'all be sure to mingle like reglar folks here!"

"Oh, too bad," Aeris smirked. "I liked Barret's sailor suit. He looked so cute."

"What'ya mean, 'cute'?" Barret grumbled.

"Right...well, uh..." Tifa looked sideways at Cloud. "Barret, why don't you use that sailor suit for pajamas? Right, Cloud?"

Cloud, it seemed, had a similar sense of humor as Harry. "Ahh...you look like a bear wearing a marshmellow."

Everyone laughed, save for Barret, all the more because Harry had called Barret a marshmellow with that sailor suit too. "The hell's that supposed to mean!? This happens to be the most comfortable, so shu'up!"

Red lied down. "Puff...puff...Would you kindly hurry? The heat here is drying my nose."

Cloud nodded. "All right. We'll take a break here and then head out tomorrow. Don't wander too far off."

"I'll wander wherever I damn well want!" Barret protested. "Who made him the leader?"

"I think that was Tifa and Aeris," Harry chuckled.

"It looks like my mane got messed up," Red grumbled as he started to slink away. "I'm going to rest somewhere cool."

"That beach doesn't look too bad," Harry thought aloud to himself. "I think I'll go visit."

Harry purchased a swimsuit in his size at a small clothes shop next to the inn. After changing, he found Red XIII sitting in the shade, his tail batting a ball back and forth between two kids who looked like they were having a ball.

"Hm, that's interesting," Harry said out loud, snorting to himself at the pun.

"It's not as if I'm doing this because I want to," Red grumbled. "You see, this tail of mine, moves quite indefpendently of my will."

Harry didn't quite believe that. "Sure it does. I'm heading down to the beach. See you later, Red."

"Have fun, Harry."

Harry stepped onto the sizzling sands and stopped in his tracks. Over in a lawn chair, surrounded by what looked like three beautiful women in bikinis (Harry successfully shot down the blush rising in his cheeks), was Hojo, still clad in his science robe.

"Oh! Cloud!" Aeris' voice called out behind him. Harry turned and saw Aeris and Tifa (both in one piece swimsuits) and Cloud (also in swim trunks) coming down the steps.

"Look, look at that!" Tifa pointed at Hojo.

"Hm...?" Cloud peered. "That girl in the bikini? Not a bad view..."

As Harry clapped his hand to his forehead in exasperation, Tifa slapped Cloud on the back of the head. "What're you looking at? That man over there. That's Hojo from Shinra. Get outta here. Go talk to him!"

The four of them walked over. "God! What do you want?" One of the women grumbled at them.

"I want to talk with that man," Cloud growled.

The girl didn't seem to appreciate Cloud's tone, but nonetheless turned. "Professor Hojo. That scary man says he wants to talk with you."

"I'm busy right now," came the reply.

"Too bad," Harry commented.

"Oh, I remember you all now. Yes, yes...I remember now." Hojo sat up. "It's been a long time, Cloud."

"Hojo..."

"Sometimes, you just gotta do something like this," Hojo remarked.

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked.

The inner-Slytherin the Sorting Hat saw in Harry rose. "It should be obvious, Cloud. He's trying to get a tan. Too bad it still won't get him laid."

Aeris elbowed Harry rather painfully in the ribs. "Hmm!" Hojo chuckled. He turned back to Cloud. "I believe we're both after the same goal."

"You mean Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"Did you see him? I see...ha ha!"

"What is it?" Cloud repeated.

Hojo stood up on his chair. "Nothing. I just remembered a cetain hypothesis...Haven't you ever had the feeling something is calling you? Or that you had to visit some place?"

"I'll go anywhere Sephiroth is at! To beat him and put an end to all this!" Cloud vowed.

"I see...This could be interesting," Hojo mused. "Were you in SOLDIER? Heh heh heh! Would you like to be my guinea pig?" Cloud began to draw back his fist. "Oh, now what? Are you going to strike me?"

"Cloud, stop! I know how you feel, but you mustn't!" Tifa called, putting a hand on Cloud's arm amid Hojo's laughter.

_That seems familiar,_ Harry thought to himself. How often had Hermione stopped Ron or himself from launching hexes or even themselves at Malfoy at school?

Hojo looked at Aeris. "Say, aren't you the 'Ancient'?"

"I'm Aeris. The least you could do is remember my name," the flower girl snapped. "I want you to tell me something, Professor Hojo...I know I'm an Ancient. My mother told me."

"Your mother? Oh, you mean Ifalna. How is she?"

"You didn't know? She died."

Hojo looked away. "I see." He didn't sound particularly sorry.

"Professor Hojo..." Aeris continued. "Is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Do we all have the same blood?"

Hojo began to mumble, and the words 'head west' were the only ones audible.

"He's mumbling slowly," Aeris remarked.

"He's hiding something..." Harry agreed, crossing his arms.

"Hey, answer us!" Tifa cried as Hojo sat down and leaned back into his chair.

"It's no use. It's no go," Cloud said.

The four of them headed away to another part of the beach. Aeris' and Tifa's giggles and appreciative views chanced from guy to guy, but most of the female swimmers seem to like what they saw when they looked at Cloud and (to his embarrassment) Harry. His blush whenever Aeris, Cloud, or Tifa pointed out that a girl was drooling over his chest brought around pales of laughter.

Sometime later, after the four had had their fill of swimming (and three of them, their fill of poking fun at Harry's embarrassed expression) they gathered their things and headed back to the inn. A pair of girls stopped them on the way and pointedly asked Cloud and Harry if they would be busy later (ignoring the glares from Tifa and Aeris). Cloud brushed them off politely, but Harry blushed once again and stuttered that he was busy. Once they were in the inn, Cloud snickered once more, sparking off another round of laughs at Harry's expense.

Harry scowled. "Well, it's not my fault my aunt and uncle pretty much killed what self-confidence I did have when I was little," he snapped irritably before shutting the door to his room a little harder than was perhaps necessary.

Once again, Harry and Red were bunked in the same room. After an initial laugh when the others told him, Red seemed to be more concerned with Harry's response and the subtle implication underlying it. "Harry."

"Rather not talk about it, Red. I'm knackered," Harry sighed, turning over.

Harry felt Red's eye on his back for a while, before, "Very well."

* * *

Harry: I would think that I could handle a few stares after all the ones I got at school, Cor.

They were just staring at your scar, Harry. That's quite a bit different than drooling over your chest, unimpressive as it is.

Sirius: BURN! Cor and Harry stare at him oddly What?

Sirius, I think you've seen a few too many episodes of 'That's 70's Show.'

Remus: You can never see too many of those.

Sirius: Thank you, Moony!

Cor scratches his head I could have sworn I sealed that damn door...

Sirius and Remus: Never underestimate a Marauder, Cor!


	30. The Mountains of North Corel

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I'm adding a disclaimer again.

Harry: Isn't it because you don't want to be sued for copyright infringement?

Yeah, that's the one.

Sirius: Is there something you want to mention about this chapter, Cor?

Not really, no. Other than the fact that I'm adding something that wasn't in the original game, but has shown up in other games.

Sirius: Like what?

You'll see.

* * *

To his surprise, Harry hadn't gotten burned in the hot sun at all while swimming the day before. After breakfast that morning, the group of six paid their tab at the inn and set off mid morning. This time, Tifa went with Harry and Red XIII while Aeris stayed with Barret and Cloud. They left the town, heading west. They could only go a few miles before they had to turn either north or south to go around the mountain. A short trek north revealed a dead end; they stood at the very beginnings of a peninsula, and the inlet of water could be seen going around the mountain. So, they turned around and headed south.

They reached the southern end of the mountains around noon and decided to stop for lunch. Afterwards, they set off west once more, crossing a bridge that stretched from cliff to cliff over a massive ravine, the bottom of which was a river that spilled into the ocean inlet to the north. They had just stepped off the bridge on the other side when they encountered two large blue chicken-like monsters.

Tifa rolled to the side to avoid getting pecked and countered with a leg sweep. Red leapt forward, sinking his fangs into the chicken's neck as he sailed past, causing his body to spin around as though it was swung on a chain attached to a pole; he caught himself on the creature's back, slowly forcing it to the ground.

Harry, meanwhile, was preoccupied with evading pecking attempts from the second monster. He would step to the side and swing his sword, only to have the chicken weave back. Frustrated, he cast Quake on it through his Earth Materia, sending the bloody bird up into the air. Apparently, its wings were not suited for flight, for despite the creature's frantic attempts to slow its descent with its wings, it crashed feet first into the ground. A loud 'SNAP' signified that both of its chicken-legs had broken, leaving it defenseless on the ground. Harry activated his Steal Materia, and pulled a bottled feather; the label on it read, 'Soft.' Harry pocketed it, then finished the creature off via decapitation. He turned to look at Red and Tifa to find that they were about to kill the other bird. Seeing that they had things well in hand, Harry scooped up the gil and slid it all into his money pouch.

They reached the foot of a mountain path near nightfall. Instead of attempting the trail in the darkness, they stopped for the night and pitched their tents. Tifa turned in early, leaving Red and Harry talking around the small campfire.

"Harry..."

"Hm?"

"Did Cloud ever tell you about Combo Breaks?"

"Combo...?" Harry shook his head. "No, he never mentioned them. Why?"

"Combo Breaks are where two people, usually close friends, reach their Limit Break simultaneously, and unleash them together," Red explained. "For some reason that even experts in the field don't understand completely, the Breaks combine together..." he trailed off, searching for the right words to describe his meaning.

"And kick major arse?" Harry offered.

"Yes...though I would not have used those words, exactly," Red chuckled. "Thing is, two complete strangers cannot seem to Combo Break. It seems to only happen between those who have a strong bond of trust with each other."

"Do you trust me, Red?" Harry asked, cottoning on. "Enough for a Combo?"

"I think so," he seemed to shrug - it was difficult for Harry to be sure, since the lion-like creature was lying around the fire. "We can try tomorrow."

The next morning, a short way up the trail, Tifa, Harry, and Red XIII found a man sitting and resting. "Hello," Harry called cheerfully.

"You're actually talking to me?" he asked incredulously.

Harry was tempted to respond with 'Do you see anyone else here?' but instead replied, "Is there some reason we shouldn't?"

"No, no, it's just...I just passed a guy in a black cape back there. I just tried to tell him that it's dangerous up ahead, and he ignored me!"

"Sephiroth..." Red muttered.

"Let's hurry on," Tifa agreed.

"Right. Thanks, old man," Harry waved.

"Don't mention it, sonny."

A short time later, Harry, Tifa, and Red XIII topped the crest of the mountain and found..."A Mako reactor!?" Tifa gasped.

"I heard they had built one here about five years ago," Red supplied.

Down on the ground around the reactor, which was surrounded by a chasm from which green stuff shined (Harry supposed that this was the raw form of Mako energy; Red told him it was actually called 'Spirit Energy' or 'Lifestream'). The stairs they climbed down bridged the chasm, while railroad tracks ran straight out from the front of the reactor. They didn't step very far before they were confronted with a bunch of small caterpillar-like monsters. Harry stepped forward first and, with a lucky strike, killed one with a single blow. He stepped back amid sparks of orange, a slightly brighter color of his previous Limit Break. "You've reached the second Tier, Harry," Red remarked.

Harry grinned, but stepped back when Red starting glowing an orange of similar hue. "You ready, Red?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

Together, Red and Harry unleashed their Limit Breaks. Tifa gasped in surprise when their orange auras mixed. "Reducto Ray!" the two cried together. The area darkened and was lit up with stars, like the night sky, all around them. Harry waved his sword, and Red propelled his energy forward, and several Reductor spells shot forward from behind them, slamming into the bugs and sending them to a messy grave. When the Break ended and the scenery returned, the only sign left of the caterpillars were tiny piles of gil. Several potmarks and craters were left smoking in the ground.

"Now that, was a rush," Harry cracked. Red chuckled in agreement. "Can we do that again?"

"Perhaps, Harry," Red mused, "when our Limit Breaks approach together again."

Tifa shook out of her daze. "What was that?" she asked.

"That was our Combo Break," Red explained. "My Stardust Ray and Harry's...er, how do you say it?" he looked at the wizard.

"Reducto Maximus."

"Yes. His Reducto Maximus meshed well with my Stardust Ray," the lion-like creature continued. "It appears that instead of the usual stars my Break summons, it summons a variation of Harry's spell, instead. The result, as you can see," here, Red jerked his head toward the devastated area, "is powerful."

"I'll say," Tifa murmured dryly.

The three set off along the tracks, careful to keep an eye out for trains (despite the obvious lack of use the tracks displayed, including gaps in which they had to jump). When the tracks split into two paths, Harry and company took the low road, only to find themselves stuck with the way they came the only way to go anywhere, as the bridge they were at the edge of was drawn up. "Can we rest here?" Harry asked, stretching his arms. "It's still rather hot, and we've been at it for a while."

Now that it was mentioned, Red began to pant heavily in an attempt to cool down. "Yes..." He cocked his head and peered across the gap. "That hut over there...there are cables and winches coming out from underneath it."

"Perhaps the bridge controls are in there?" Tifa wondered aloud.

"Probably," Harry agreed. He led his eyes to follow the tracks above them (the 'high road' when the tracks had split off). "The other fork would lead straight to that hut."

Footsteps sounded behind them. They turned and found Cloud, Aeris, and Barret on the road above. "Wha? Oh, it's you," Red started. He nodded toward the hut across the water. "There seems to be an instrument in that hut that manipulates this bridge. We're just resting for a moment."

"Ok, then," Cloud nodded. "We'll get to the hut and lower the bridge for you guys." He peered across. "It looks like we can jump down to your level a little further ahead, so we won't have to back track."

"Right. See you in a bit," Harry agreed. Tifa, Harry, and Red watched as Barret, Cloud, and Aeris fought through a pair of chicken monsters (Harry jokingly referred to them as such, but Red sniffed and called them by their correct names - Cockatrices) before entering the hut. There was a rumbling sound as the drawbridge shuddered and lowered, granting the three access to the other side. Standing up only partially refreshed from their brief stop, they dashed across the bridge to the other side.

Once the entire team met up again, they walked into the crumbling, run-down town before them. They were stopped, however, when the villagers saw Barret and cried, "It's you!" almost in perfect sync.

* * *

Harry: Whoa, hold up. I saw that skills list you typed up for me. How come I can do magic in the later FF games, but not in this one or the next one?

It will be explained in due time.

Sirius: And that is...?

...Next chapter.

Homer Simpson: D'oh!

blink How the carp did you get in here?

Harry: I think he took a wrong turn somewhere.

Sirius: pokes Homer's beer gut, watching it jiggle. Probably. Hee hee, it jiggles like Jell-O!

Homer: Stop that!


	31. A FortuneTelling Moogle

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF.

Hermione: So, are you going to explain or what?

In the actual story. Have fun, Hermione.

Hermione: What?

* * *

"Hermione...I've been wondering. Why _can't_ Harry use his magic normally in there? Even without a wand, he should still be able to do _some_thing," Ron mused.

Hermione looked thoughtful. "Well...I think it's because doing so would break the physical and metaphysical laws of the gameworld."

Ron looked slackjawed and glassy-eyed. "Awww...English, please?"

Remus chuckled. "Let me put it this way, Ron. When you performed accidental magic when you were still little, did you actively think about what you wanted to happen, or did it just, well, _happen_?"

"It just happened," Ron replied.

Remus nodded. "Some partially-popular theories propose that magic has a special kind of mind all its own. The little bit of magic every wizard or witch has, when unbridled, seeks to preserve the life of the being it serves."

Hermione looked up. "So...when Ron compiled all the discs into one, the magic didn't just copy all the data on them, it also translated the mechanics as laws as to how each world of the game worked. In this first one, people cannot do magic without 'Materia,' so Harry can't, either."

Ginny tilted her head. "In a wierd way, that makes sense."

Ron sank into his seat in the couch. "I almost regret asking..."

Tonks glanced through the booklet for the Final Fantasy IX game. "It seems, at least in this one, one needs only to train to use magic, such as the character, 'Garnet til Alexandros.'"

Hermione smiled. "So, Harry can probably use magic normally in the later games, then?"

Remus shrugged. "Probably."

* * *

"Well, lookey here! Never thought I'd ever see your face again," one man said, just as he stepped forward and slugged Barret across the jaw. Despite Harry's expectation, Barret stood there and allowed the punch.

"They kick you out of another town or somethin'?" a second man sneered. "No wonder. You destroy everything you touch."

"You got a lot of balls comin' back here!" a third guy growled. "Look at this place! It's all your fault North Corel turned into a garbage heap!"

"Why doncha say something!?" the first man asked. "Or did ya forget what you done here already?"

Barret closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry..."

"Fuck! You ain't even worth the effort."

"Don't waste your time talkin' to the Techno-freak!"

With that, the crowd dispersed. Harry looked questioningly at Barret as he turned to them. "You heard 'em...It's my fault this town was...destroyed..." He turned away and ran, disappearing around the far edge of the town.

They found Barret at a station with a cable car. "Barret, what happened?" Aeris asked gently.

"Sorry," Barret shook his head.

"What happened?" Cloud asked again.

"My hometown used to be around here..."

"What do you mean, 'used to'?" Red wondered.

"It ain't here no more. Heard it got buried...in just 4 years."

Harry's memory flashed. _"I heard they had built one here about five years ago," Red supplied._ "It had something to do with that Reactor, didn't it?"

"But how could those people say those terrible things?" Aeris mused.

"Very easily," Harry added.

"An' it's my fault. ALL my fault." Barret took a breath. "Corel was always a coal mining town. It's so dusty, but calm and so poor...a real small town, this one. That's the first time I ever heard the word 'Mako Reactor' mentioned since that time..." ****

Flashback

"What are we going to do?" the village elder asked. "The only one against this is Dyne."

A strong young man stood up. "I'm definitely against it, no matter what. There's nothing to talk about if you're thinking of throwing away our coal! Our coal's been protected for generations. Our fathers, and theirs before them, risked their lives for it. We have no right to throw it all away so easily!"

A younger-looking Barret, but both hands still intact, grabbed his friend's shoulder. "But listen, Dyne. No one uses coal nowadays. It's the sign of the times."

Scarlet nodded. "Right. Everything is Mako now. It'll be all right, Dyne. Shinra, Inc. will guarantee your livelihood once the Mako Reactor is completed."

"Listen, Dyne," Barret added. "I don't want my wife, Myrna, to suffer anymore."

Dyne slumped back on the couch behind him. "I know how you feel! I feel the same way too, damn it! But even so, I won't give away our coal mines!"

The village elder clapped Dyne's other shoulder. "Dyne...you've got to understand." Dyne looked at him, then at Barret. He placed his face into his hands and began to weep.

End Flashback.

"That's how the Corel Reactor was built...and completed," Barret concluded. "We all thought it would bring us an easier life." He shook his head. "It happened when Dyne and I were out of town for a few days...Corel was burned down by the Shinra troops. All the townspeople...All my relatives...Everyone...everything..."

"Shinra troops? What for!?" Harry asked.

Barret turned away. "There was an explosion at the reactor. Shinra blamed the accident on the people. Said it was done by a rebel faction."

"That's so terrible!" Tifa gasped.

"Well, I guess that's true," Barret agreed. "But more than Shinra, I couldn't forgive myself. Never should have gone along with the building of teh reactor..."

"Don't blame yourself, Barret," Harry consoled.

"We were all fooled by the promises Shinra made back then," Tifa agreed.

"That's why...that's why I get so pissed off!" Barret growled. "Not only did they take advantage of me...But I lost my wife, Myrna, too..."

"Hey everyone! If you want to go to the Gold Saucer, hurry and get on!" the ticket vendor called out.

Harry turned to Cloud. "Well, shall we go?"

Cloud nodded. "Let's go."

As they piled on, Harry heard Barret mutter, "Dyne was my best friend. We was close ever since we was kids..."

* * *

Harry gasped as the Gold Saucer came into view. It was a massive structure held up in the sky on a single, massive support. A race track stretched around the entire thing, and Harry saw racers on big yellow birds run along it every so often. A roller coaster track ran and looped around the place. The entire thing was dotted with lights that shone and strobed happily. All too soon, the car pulled into the station and they stepped off.

"Welcome to the Gold Saucer," a man in a yellow bird costume greeted them.

"Welcome to the Gold Saucer," the lady at the ticket counter smiled. "Are you together? A single pass is 3600 gil, or you can purchase a lifetime pass for 30,000 gil."

Cloud shrugged and plopped 3600 gil on the counter. "Just a single pass."

The lady seemed to frown, but it passed so quickly Harry didn't notice it until after it was gone. "Thank you very much. Here at the Gold Saucer, there are many places where you must pay with GP. Just think of 'GP' as money that you can only use at the Gold Saucer. GP can only be redeemed at the games in Wonder Square and at the Chocobo Races. The GP limit is 10,000, so please be careful, and enjoy yourselves."

They entered the lobby. "Wow! Let's have fun!" Aeris laughed. She turned to Barret, who was staring unseeingly at the wall. "This probably isn't the right to time do this, but...Hey Barret, cheer up!"

Barret's head snapped around to look at her. Harry thought he heard a joint crack; by the look on Red's face, he had heard it too. "I ain't in no cheery mood. So jes' leave me alone," the large man growled at the flower girl.

Aeris looked at him sadly. "Really? That's too bad." She ran up to Cloud and Harry and grabbed each of their arms. "Let's go!"

"Huh?" Cloud and Harry blinked at her.

Tifa leaned in and whispered in Aeris' ear. Aeris whispered something back, then said, "Of course!" She let go of the guys' arms and ran over to Barret again. "We're gonna go play..."

Barret waved his arms and bellowed, "So PLAY! ...messin' round fuckers! Don't forget we're after Sephiroth!" With that, he ran and jumped into the Wonder Square portal.

"I think he's mad," Harry remarked dryly.

"He'll be fine. He seems to be doing a little better now," Tifa replied.

Aeris shrugged then pulled on Harry's arm. "Come on!"

Harry looked confused. "But what about...your deal with Cloud?" has asked softly.

Aeris shook his head. "His date will come later. You're up now," she giggled.

Harry blinked. "But..."

"Oh, don't be like that," Aeris giggled, sharing an amused look with Tifa. She pulled him toward Wonder Square. "I wanna play some of the games there!"

Harry gave Cloud and Red a look that plainly said 'HELP!' but when they laughed at him, Harry scowled at them. _If only looks could kill..._ Harry thought to himself before he was pushed into the slide that quickly deposited them at the entrance to Wonder Square.

As they stepped away from the lift, what looked like a stuffed cat riding a giant "Moogle" Aeris whispered to him after seeing his expression, approached them. "Hey you! What're you lookin' so down for!?" it asked them. "How 'bout it? Want me to read your fortune!? A bright future! A happy future!"

Harry burst out laughing. It took a good five minutes before his mirth died off. "Listen, cat, moogle, whatever you are; where I come from, fortune telling is as woolier than that wool sweater your mom knits for you every Christmas. They have a class for it, but the teacher's nuttier than your grandma's fruit cake, and twice as crumby." Aeris giggled.

The thing looked down. "Don't hold it against me if it's not a great prediction..." it jerked his face up. "Oh, so sorry! I'm a fortune telling machine. The name's Cait Sith."

"Do you only read the future?" Aeris asked.

"You kidding? I can find missing things, missing people, anything!" Cait Sith claimed.

Harry shrugged, thinking it couldn't hurt. "Then I reckon you can tell me where a man named Sephiroth is?"

"Sephiroth, right?" Harry nodded. Cait took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes!" He did a little two-step, and a piece of paper came out of a small slit on the moogle's wrist. He offered to Harry, who took it and read.

"'Ordinary luck. It will be an active fortune. Give into the good will of others, and something big'll happen by summer'...wait...what is this?"

"Huh? Let me try again," Cait replied. He did the little dance again.

Harry read from the second slip. "'Be careful of forgetfulness. Your lucky color is...blue?'" He crumbled both slips of paper. "Forget it."

"Wait, wait! Give me another chance! Wait! Let me try it again!" Cait pleaded. He did a super-fast version of his two-step and gave Harry a third slip of paper.

Harry looked at it. "...The hell?"

"What?" Aeris asked.

"'What you puruse will be yours. But you will lose something dear.'"

Cait Sith looked down. "I don't know if it's good OR bad...This's the first time I ever got something like THIS." He nodded. "Then shall we?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry growled, hand gripping his sword. He suddenly felt like he couldn't trust this moogle thing as far as he could throw Hagrid without a wand.

"As a fortune teller, I can't help but think about this," Cait explained with the tone of one commenting on the weather. "If I don't see what it leads to, I won't be able to relax. That's why I'm going with you!"

"What are we going to do, Harry?" Aeris inquired.

"I'm commin' with you no matter WHAT you say!" Cait vowed, ignoring Harry's protests.

Cait did treat them to a short tour of the Wonder Square, but some time later, they were led to the Battle Square. They came out and found a Shinra guard standing at the entrance, only to collapse a few seconds later, dead from bullet wounds.

"What? Why?" Aeris gasped.

They entered the lobby for the Battle Square to find Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII. "Did Sephiroth do this?" Harry asked when saw the carnage.

"No, it's not him," Cloud replied. "They're all shot. Sephiroth would never use a gun..."

A low groan reached their ears. Harry and Aeris ran over and helped a wounded lady in a tattered Gold Saucer uniform sit up against the wall. "Hey, what happened?"

"Ugh...ugh...a man with a gun...on his arm..." came the gargled answer.

"It can't be!?" Aeris gasped.

"Hold it right there! And stay quiet!" a man in wrestler's shorts ordered as he came in, surrounded by guards. He looked around at them. "Did you guys do this?"

Cloud shook his head. "N...No, it wasn't us!"

"None of us use a gun..." Harry added.

"I could...have been wrong..." the man mused softly. Harry almost didn't hear him.

"Hurry and run, it's gonna get ugly!" Cait cried.

"No, you stupid cat!" Harry shouted at him. "That'll just make us look guilty!"

"And you can prove that you're not?" the wrestler-guy growled. "Hold them!" he cried when Cait Sith ducked away into a door in the back, followed by Red, Tifa, and Aeris. Cloud pulled Harry along with him.

"He won't listen right now, kid. Let's go!"

They found themselves on a small platform in the center of an arena. The door before them was locked. "That's as far as you go," the man in charge smirked. With a snap of his fingers, robot guards leapt to the arena and approached them.

"Wait, listen to us!" Harry cried as they were manhandled by the 'bots.

One by one, his friends, along with the robots that held them, jumped down through a hole that read 'Gateway to Heaven'. "One more to go," the man said stonily.

"None of us uses a gun! Listen to me!" Harry cried. "They were all shot! They had bullet holes!"

"There's no need to listen. Pay for your crime down below!" The man replied. He turned to his comrade. "Do it."

"Yes."

And so, the robot that held Harry captive, hopped through the hole, bringing Harry with him shouting all the way down.

* * *

And that's the end of the chapter.

Hermione: frowning That man sounds a little like ex-Minister Fudge.

Not really. He'll realize his mistake in about two chapters, though we won't see him in person at all for several chapters, when they return after finding Cid.

Harry: rubs his wrists I think my wrists are bruised from that ruddy robot.

Here, soak them in this bowl. It's filled with the Essence of Murtlap.

Ron: Isn't that the stuff 'Mione gave Harry after his detention with the Umbitch?

Cor and Hermione roll their eyes Cor: Yes, Ron.

Ron: What? I'm just confirming what I thought I knew...

Harry: Hey...where's Sirius?

Huh?

Elsewhere, Sirius is plotting with Moony Sirius: Moony!

Remus: No, Sirius. I'm not getting involved with this latest hare-brained scheme you've got planned.

Sirius: sounding affronted But Moony! We have to get this guy back for mistreating Harry and his friends!

Remus: sighs Are you referring to the story?

Sirius: Of course I am. Moony, what do you take me for?

Remus: An idiot with a _Sirius_ lack of common sense.

Sirius: groans


	32. Barret's Story

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF. Ask Snape for proof of my...er...not ownership.

Sirius: That was the most pathetic recovery I've ever seen.

I see you've returned.

Harry: As if he could stay away from the food.

Sirius: Hey!

* * *

Harry's eyes opened and found Red XIII sitting at his side, waiting for him to awaken. Aeris, Tifa, Cloud, and Cait Sith were standing around, occasionally doodling in the sand with their toes. "You all right?" Aeris asked.

"Where are we?" Harry replied, standing up and dusting himself off.

"A desert prison...Corel Prison..." Cait answered despondantly. Harry looked around. Besides the towering support structure behind him, there was not a building around for miles, save for a fence that led off into the distance.

"Well, that just bloody well sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yup," Cloud nodded. "A natural prison in the middle of the desert...surrounded entirely by quicksand."

"I heard that once you get in, you never get out," Cait agreed. "But, there was one special exception..."

"Of course there's a special exception," Harry snapped irritably at the cat. "There's an exception to every rule."

"Hey, Barret!" Aeris called out. They turned and found Barret, with his back to them, standing at the corner of the tower.

They ran over to him. "Barret..." Cloud whispered. His unspoken question was easily read as, _'Did he really...?'_

Barret stepped away. "Stay back! This's something I gotta deal with." He turned away. "Jes' leave me alone..." he added before running off.

Harry crossed his arms. "Did I...look like that when I shoved my friends away to protect them...?" he mused to himself.

"Whew!" Cait breathed. "That's one of your friends? He sure looks dangerous."

"We're all dangerous, Cait. Just in different ways," Red reminded him, showing off his fangs.

They eventually started to look around the place. Harry, Red, and Cloud ran into a pair of guards standing...well, guard outside a small trailer. "Hey, you guys new? Then go and pay your respects to Mr. Coates."

The three entered and found a well-dressed man with white hair sitting at a desk. "Never seen your faces 'round here before. Goin' up?"

"Yeah, up," Cloud nodded, scowling.

"You don't seem to understand how thigns work down here," the man laughed. "This is the Gold Saucer's garbage dump. And that makes alluv ya scrubs. The only way to get back up there is to win the Chocobo Race. But, it's not as easy as you rookies think. Of course, if you got the boss's permission it'd be a different story, but...YOU'll never get that!"

"Hey Cloud..." Harry whispered under the man's laughter. "Can we kill him? Please?" Cloud chuckled and shook his head before leading them out.

The three entered a run-down shack that seemed to have survive a fire, though was heavily damaged and covered in soot. As they looked around the single room, Barret burst in through a second door. "Didn't I tell you not to come here?" he roared, raising his gun arm and pointing it at them.

"Whoa! Whoa! Wait! Barret!" Harry cried. Cloud and Harry ducked down, arms over their heads. Red crouched down, getting as low as possible, when Barret opened fire. After the gunshots die away, Harry hears a thud from behind a tattered couch. As they looked around, Barret turned away.

"Didn't want none of ya to get involved..."

Cloud shrugged. Just then, Cait Sith, Aeris, and Tifa burst in through the front door. "Hey, that's Cloud's line!" Aeris cried. "'...It's too dangerous, I can't let you get involved...' blah, blah, blah..."

"Yeah. We're already involved in this," Tifa nodded in agreement. "We heard the gunshots and hurried here. So, come on, Barret, just tell us what's going on."

"You guys..." Barret said, slowly turning around to look at them.

"The murders at the Battle Arena were done by a man with a gun-arm...was that you?" Red XIII asked bluntly.

Barret shook his head, then stared at the ceiling in thought. "There's another...another man that got a gun grafted inta one of his arms...It was four years ago..." He paused. "I remember...I was on my way home from visiting a Mako Reactor being built..."

**Flashback**

**Barret and Dyne were walked alongside the train tracks when the village elder came running up to them. "Barret! Dyne! Come quick! The village's being attacked! It's Shinra soldiers!"**

**"WHAT!?" Barret cried. He and Dyne leapt down to the ledge and peered out over the cliff's edge. Their village, their home, was up in flames, and black smoke rose into the sky. Barret trembled. "What the hell happened...?"**

**Barret punched the ground in despair. Dyne shakes his shoulder. "Hey, Barret! It's not over yet! Everyone's waiting! Let's go back..."**

**A shout from the elder draws their attention away from the horrific scene of their home in flames. The village elder takes a few steps away from a quartet of Shinra soldiers, led by Scarlet. "Barret! Dyne! Protect the village!" the elder cried, just as the troops opened fire and killed him.**

**"Hmp! Old man!" Barret grunted. The troops began firing at them. Dyne dove beneath the tracks. Barret, who was not quite as fast or nimble, was left to dance between the bullets.**

**"C'mon Barret! We gotta hurry!" Dyne beckoned.**

**"Krggh!" Barret growled, eventually making it to beneath the tracks. He caught up to Dyne on a small ledge on a high cliff.**

**"Barret! You stay here!" Dyne ordered, pulling a pistol.**

**"Shu'up!" Barret protested.**

**The troops, opened fire on them, Scarlet joining them with a pistol. "Watch out!" Dyne cried, pushing Barret down. A few bullets hit him, causing him to begin falling over the cliff. Barrte dived forward and grabbed his left arm just in time.**

**"Dyne! Hang on! Lissen to me! You're comin' back to the village, hear!" Barret shouted over the gunfire.**

**"Yeah," Dyne nodded. "I ain't lettin' go...You're comin' back...Everyone's waitin' for ya...Eleaner...and Marlene...They all waitin' on us..."**

**The guards contine to fire. The bullets kept getting closer and closer, until finally, several pierced Barret and Dyne's wrists, hands, and lower arms. Dyne fell from his friend's grasp, into the chasm. Barret cried out, tears running down unchecked.**

**End Flashback.**

"From then on...I couldn't use my right arm no more," Barret said, wrapping up his tale. "...I was depressed for a while...but then, I threw away my artificial arm and got this gun grafted in." He turned away. "Got a new right arm to get revenge on the Shinra, who took everything away..." He faced them again. "Back then, I heard the doc say there was another man who got the same operation as me. But, his was the left arm..."

The shack was silent for a minute as everyone absorbed Barret's story. "But...Dyne's injury was the same as yours, right?" Aeris asked uncomfortably.

"Yeah, that's right," Tifa agreed. "He was deceived by the Shinra, too. He'll probably join us to fight against the Shinra."

Barret looked away. "...Wouldn't bet on it. I gotta 'pologize to Dyne before I can rest in peace. An' that's why...I gotta go alone."

"'Do whatever you want...'" Cloud said suddenly. "Is that what you want to hear? Well, I can't let you do it. Because, if you die on me, I'm gonna have nightmares."

"Barret, this isn't the end," Harry agreed. "Weren't you going to save the Planet?"

"Shit! Harry, you outta know by now!"

"That's all right," Tifa said. "I'm not so different from you."

"So there it is, Barret," Cloud nodded. "So I guess it'll be Barret, me, and..." he looked at his friends and comrades, "...Aeris."

Aeris, Cloud, and Barret breathed for a moment. "We'll be back soon," Cloud added, leaving the shack right behind Barret.

"Take care," Aeris said softly as she followed them.

Harry sat back on the couch. "So, now, we wait, huh?"

Tifa sat next to him. "That's the plan."

"...Waiting sucks."

Sometime later, when both Cait Sith and Red XIII had nodded off, Tifa spoke up again. "Harry..."

"Hmm?"

"About your Combo Break with Red..."

"What about it?"

"...I'm envious."

"You don't have a Combo with anyone?" Tifa shook her head. "But I would have thought that you and Cloud, or Barret, would have had one..."

"'Fraid not," Tifa sighed. "I don't think Cloud's capable of Combo Breaks. He just...doesn't really trust anyone."

Harry frowned. "Oh..." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You want that feeling?"

"Yes, but...I don't really feel like I trust anyone enough for that."

"You seem to get on alright with Aeris."

Tifa giggled. "Don't get me wrong, Aeris is a great friend, but..."

"Cloud."

Tifa looked up in surprise. "Wha...?"

Harry chuckled. "With the friends I have had, it's easy to come away with a lot more perception that you started off with."

Tifa blushed. "I..."

"Should tell Cloud...when you're ready. Not before then, because it won't feel right. Not after, because then you'll miss the time you could have had with him, or...someone else will lay claim to him." Harry's light tone darkened somewhat as he thought of Ginny, and of Ron and Hermione. "My two best friends are still dancing around each other, now that I think about it. I might have to ask Fred and George to help me shove them in a closet and not let them out until they snog each other senseless."

Tifa giggled. "So, Harry...have you had any girlfriends...?"

"A couple, though I hesitate to call the first one a real girlfriend," Harry replied, more than a little uncomfortable. "She was crying over her ex-boyfriend more than anything else..."

"Why did you go out with her, then?"

"We didn't really...but I was crushing on her for two years at that point...anyway, it wasn't that Cedric was just her ex-boyfriend..." Harry sighed sadly. "He died in a competition between schools."

"I see..."

* * *

Harry: Not sure why you have me spilling my guts out like that.

It'll build trust between the two of you later. Enough for a Combo Break.

Harry: But still...

Hermione: You do need to open up more, Harry.

Cor sighs Stupid...Apparition...where are those ward builders I hired?

Hermione: But I didn't apparate this time. I used a Portkey.

Bugger!


	33. Chocobo Racing For Dummies

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF. For various and witty ways of saying that same thing, check the previous chapters.

Harry: This chapter title sounds like the title of a book.

Hermione: Book? Where book?

Sirius slaps his forehead and groans

* * *

"I don't know whether to take a picture or take a chunk outta your hide, kid."

That was the first thing Harry heard. The second was, naturally, Aeris' giggling. Harry's eyes snapped open; he must've fallen asleep while talking to Tifa. Cloud stood there with his arms crossed, trying to look the part of overprotective big brother, but a chuckle was valiantly struggling to break free. Aeris, of course, had no such hindrances, and was very openly giggling.

"Where's Barret?" Harry asked when he didn't see him. Then he felt the weight on his shoulder. He looked down and saw the long, straight brown hair that sprouted from Tifa's head. "Er..." He blushed.

"Take a picture, Cloud," Red XIII chortled darkly. "You could always use it as blackmail later."

"Good point," Cloud agreed, "but for whom?"

"Why not both?" Aeris giggled. At this point, Tifa opened her eyes.

"Tifa, do me a favor," Harry said, "and don't say 'This isn't what it looks like.' That's...cliche."

Tifa jumped away from Harry like he was scalding hot water she had stuck her finger in, blushing. The look on her face quickly killed Harry's embarrassment and made him laugh, which finally provided the muscle Cloud's amusement needed to break his stern expression.

It was to laughter that Barret returned, looking a little worse for wear. "Wha's goin' on?" he asked, only inciting more laughter. Tifa finally began to giggle along. "Neve'mind. Lissen...I gotta way for us to get outta here."

"Oh? How's that?" Harry asked, his mirth in control once more.

"I talked to that Coates feller," the Corel-native replied, "after we got back. He'll let one of us go up to race in the Chocobo Races and race, and if we win, we'll be allowed to go free. That's the deal made with Dio."

"I see. Who's going to race?" Red asked. "Neither Cait Sith or myself are physically capable of riding Chocobos."

"And I'm too heavy to be an effective racer," Barret added, giving Harry a dirty look when he was about to crack a joke on his size.

"That narrows it down to Aeris, Tifa, Cloud, and Harry,"

Cait agreed.

"Dio mentioned he would like to see the kid again," Barret grinned, glancing at Harry, "but he would talk to Cloud as well."

"I guess that means the girls are out, then," Cloud sighed. He looked at Harry. "Have you ever ridden a chocobo?"

"Ridden one? I'm not even sure what a chocobo _is_," Harry quipped.

"A chocobo is like an ostritch, except larger, stronger, and yellow," Red explained.

"Ah."

"My Buster Sword would probably weigh us down," Cloud mused.

"Don't I get any say in this?" Harry asked.

"Not really, no."

Harry glanced at their faces, all smirking with good humor. "Bugger."

* * *

"Have you decided?" Coates (the sharply dressed man from earlier) asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'll race," he said darkly.

"All you need, then, is a manager...and register and get a chocobo..."

"I'll be your manager," a soft, yet strong voice danced on the air through the door. A honey-color haired woman walked in, clad in a simple pink dress and white boots and gloves.

"Well, I have nothing against it, but..." Coates trailed off. He turned to Harry. "This is Ester. She may look kinda funny...but there's no better manager in the races."

Ester put her hands on her hips and glared. "That's so rude!"

"It kinda is," Harry grumbled in agreement.

Ester turned to him. "Yeah, well...Nice to meet you, Harry."

"All right then, Harry," Coates said. "I'll send you up on the elevator. Ester'll fill you in on the details."

* * *

"Hmm...so that's what happened?" Ester asked as Harry wrapped up a brief summary of what happened in the Saucer as they rode an elevator up. "I'll talk to Dio directly. You just concentrate on the race. Oh yeah...getting back to the other thing. There are many different types of Chocobo jockeys. It's not only for criminals."

"That's a relief," Harry breathed.

Ester smiled. "Some people compete for the fame. Some people compete for the money, some only for glory...and then there are people like you." She nodded. "I'll teach you how to ride a Chocobo."

"It's not completely different from a motorcycle, is it?" Harry asked.

Ester tilted her head. "Well, no, not really. It's like a slower moterbike, that doesn't require gas or for you to balance it as well as yourself too much, and comes with different personalities.

"It's pretty hard to make the Chocobo run the way you want it to, sometimes. If the bird doesn't like you, it won't listen. You can't really help on this one, but most of the Chocobo's that I'll provide you with are mellow, so you should be able to handle them."

_It's more like a hippogriff by the sound of it,_ Harry thought.

Ester quickly outlined the best ways to control a Chocobo during the race. Harry listened with rapt attention, similar to when, in first year, Hermione had attempted to learn flying from a book and Neville, unlike everyone else who was bored stupid, paid the utmost attention to every syllable that rolled off her tongue that morning. Just as Ester wrapped up her explanation, the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

Ester and Harry walked off into a lobby. "You new?" a man in a red shirt and black slacks asked, nodding at Harry.

"Hi, Jo," Ester greeted.

Jo nodded. "Hey Ester. You're looking pretty as usual."

"Thanks," Ester giggled. "Let me introduce you, Harry. This is Jo, one of the top Chocobo Jockeys."

"Nice to meet you, Harry," Jo smiled, shaking hands. "If you're with Ester, then..."

"Right!" Ester nodded enthusiastically. "He's an up and coming jockey."

"Not really..." Harry protested weakly.

"He's only been down here for a day and already he made it up here!"

"I didn't really do much to warrant this special treatment," Harry complained. His complaint fell on deaf ears, naturally.

"What!?" Jo gasped. "I see...So, what did you do down there?" He then caught himself. "Sorry...you're not supposed to ask about the past here...Pretty interesting, though, isn't it?" He looked at Harry. "I don't know if we'll meet again, but...good luck, Harry." He smiled genially before turning away and leaving.

Ester grinned at Harry. "I'm going to check on the Chocobo. You just wait here for a while."

Harry, nonplussed, sat and waited on a bench. A few minutes later, there was a loud tone on the intercom system. "The race will start in a few moments. Will the jockeys for the next race, pleace proceed to the paddock. I repeat..."

Harry jumped up. "Harry," Ester called from the entrance. Harry hurried over to her. "Thanks for waiting. I registered you in the next race. This is a Chocobo I prepared myself; he won't lose easily."

Harry nodded as he was led up to the big yellow bird. He studied the saddle for a brief moment before climbing up and settling. Ester lead the bird over to an entry gate. "Good luck, Harry."

"Don't wish me good luck, Ester," Harry grinned. At her confused expression, Harry added, "I don't need it. I've got enough good luck that it saved my life several times over now."

Ester nodded, seeming to understand, and left the track. Harry glanced over at his fellow racers, noticing how they all seemed hunched over behind the head of their bird. Harry quickly mimicked their positions. Then, there was three lights in front of them. The top red light was on, and when it clicked off a second later, the middle, yellow light lit up. A second after that, the bottom green light clicked on and a gong sounded. The race was on!

Harry nudged his heels into the Chocobo's side, and he took off like a rocket. His Chocobo kept paced with the other racers very well, Harry managed to think as the wind roared past his ears. Although he knew from the ride up to the saucer that the track was open air on the outside, from here, it looked as though he was racing through a crystal-filled cave that opened up to a beautiful waterfall scene. He nudged his bird to go a little faster, edging out ahead of his competitors here, correctly thinking the end of the race neared (Ester mentioned that she would register him for a short-track race). As he and the lead racer just in front of him rounded the last bend, Harry saw the finish line.

"C'mon, go, go, go!" he whispered to his Chocobo, digging his heels firmly into the bird's ribs (but not enough to hurt; Ester warned him not to dig too deeply, else he would get thrown off and chased around by an enraged chocobo). In response, the bird let out a loud "KWEH!" and shot forward, surprising the leader but for a moment before he, too, nudged his bird in the ribs. For most of the last stretch (which wasn't that far, only about a hundred feet or so), they were neck and neck. Harry's Chocobo seemed to get angry that his pride was threatened, and ignored Harry for the moment, squawked, and put on a burst of speed that came from somewhere hidden deeply beneath its yellow-feathered body. It was enough to give him enough of a lead for an unmistakeable first place win.

Harry weakly patted the bird's neck in gratitude. "Thanks," he whispered, before climbing down. His legs felt a little like jelly, but he managed to stand on his own after a minute. Ester came and led them away, the chocobo back to the paddock to rest and eat, and Harry back to the lounge he was in earlier.

"Congratuations! Now you're home free!" Ester cried happily.

"Well, it was really your chocobo, Ester," Harry replied, smiling.

"But still, you were the racer that rode him."

Harry quickly blanched. "That didn't sound right," he muttered, chuckling darkly.

Ester looked at him oddly for a minute, then pulled out a letter. "The owner told me to give this letter to you when you won."

Harry took the envelope and, slitting it open quickly, pulled out the missive and read:

_Boy, if you're reading this letter, then you must have won. And won a victory I'm sure you earned. I heard about Dyne from Ester. Now that you are victorious, I promise that you and all your friends will get a full pardon, and you will all be set free. And also, by way of apology, I prepared a little gift for you to use on your journey. Sorry I couldn't be there to tell you this in person, but I'm afraid I'm a very busy man._

_Sincerely,_

_Dio_

"A gift...?" Harry mused. Then, his PHS rang. He pulled it out and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Harry, isn't this great!?" Aeris voice sang out. "The assistant manager just stopped by and dropped off a buggy for you! Now we can cross over deserts and rivers with no problems! Okay? I'll be waiting outside."

Harry noticed the letter continued...

_P.S. I just recently met Sephiroth. He must have a lot of fans with boys your age. Why don't you get his autograph? It seems he's headed toward the south of the river, towards Gongaga._

"I guess this is goodbye, then," Ester said, somewhat sadly. Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah, well...if you ever get your own Chocobo, come race again. I'll take care of your registration and everything. I'll see you again."

"Thanks for everything, Ester," Harry smiled and left.

The buggy, as it turned out, was Gryffindor red, with a goldish yellow trim. It had eight wheels, four on either side, and enough room for everyone to sit comfortably. "I don't suppose you know how to drive, kid?" Cloud smirked from the driver's seat.

"Does it matter?" Harry shot back. "It's not like we'll be driving on any real roads. Besides, I didn't know how to ride a bike, and I did well when we escaped from Midgar, didn't I?"

Cloud scowled from Tifa and Aeris laughed. "He's got you there, Cloud. Let him drive."

"Fine, fine," Cloud groused good naturedly. "Just don't crash."

* * *

That chapter was quite a bit longer than the past several have been.

Harry: You covered everything in this, though, without dragging it out or splitting it up over two chapters. Isn't that the ideal chapter length you mentioned in that one review you left on ?

Oh, yeah...

Sirius: I want my motorcycle back...if only so I can give it to Harry.


	34. The Ruined Reactor

You know, I just realized, I have a universal disclaimer on the Story Archive page of my website. Placing a disclaimer in every chapter is redundant.

Harry: *agreeing* Very redundant.

Sirius: I wanna buggy!

Sirius, you _have_ a _flying_ motorcycle!

Sirius: Oh yeah...I forgot about that...

* * *

Harry drove the buggy with extra care, primarily to prove Cloud wrong. Nonetheless, he had fun, zooming across the plains, only stopping to fight off the few monsters that managed to keep up with the buggy. After a while, though, they came across a river with a ford.

Harry came to a stop several yards before the crossing. He grinned and glanced back at his friends and companions. "Say, Aeris...didn't you say this buggy could cross rivers?" he asked.

"Where there are shallows, like the spot before us, yes, yes I did," the flower girl replied, smiling.

"Well then..." Harry turned forward. He shot a smirk at Cloud, who seemed to pale slightly. "Be sure to buckle up. This is gonna get bumpy." He waited all of three seconds before slamming the gas. Dirt and grass flew up behind the buggy before the tires bit, sending the buggy rocketing forward. Harry didn't notice the slight incline just before the ground met the water, so he was as surprised as the others when the buggy flew over the river. Unlike them, however, Harry let out a whoop seconds before the buggy landed dry on the other side. Since the weight distribution of the buggy and its passengers was so that the back end was slightly heavier than the front, the back hit first, a split second before the front did, and caused no damage to the buggy. More dirt and grass was thrown up into the air as the tires spun for a second before biting the ground once more, though significantly less than taking off as momentum carried the buggy forward despite the lack of traction. The buggy shot forward again, the g-forces's crushing its occupants into their seats.

Laughing out loud, Harry kept the gas pedal pressed to the floor until the forest that Tifa managed to shout out surrounded the town of Gongaga, came into view. Harry waited a few seconds before slamming the brakes and jerking the wheel, causing the buggy to slide across the grass sideways and leave tracks in the dirt, coming to a rest half a car-length from the treeline.

Harry glanced, eyes sparkling, as his white-faced companions sat shock-still for a few seconds, afraid that Harry would slam the gas again, before throwing open the doors and jumping out on their wobbly legs. Harry chuckled loudly and shut off the engine, climbing out himself. "That...was...BLOODY BRILLIANT!" he shouted across the plains.

"Think I'm gonna be sick..." Barret grumbled, leaning against a tree with his good hand.

Red, it appeared, wasn't much better off. "Harry...if you ever do that again...I will personally rip your hands off with my teeth," he threatened, looking decidedly ill.

"I'll hold you down while he does that," Cloud promised.

"Then I'll break all four limbs," Tifa growled, on her knees and trembling as she slowly halted the flip-flops her stomach seemed to be doing.

"Oh, come on, guys! That wasn't any worse than flying out the window in Shinra HQ onto the highway!" Harry protested, smiling.

"That was different," Aeris said slowly, her pale face slowly regaining color.

"We weren't all in one vehicle," Cloud agreed. "Besides, we were running on adrenaline then."

"I wouldn't know...I wasn't there for that," Cait Sith admitted. He definitely looked the least ill of them all, after Harry of course. Then again, not having any organic organs left one incapable of motion, flight, or sea-sickness.

"If we start walking, perhaps you lot will recover faster, if you're that worried about throwing up," Harry groused. "And Red...you have to admit, that was a lot of fun."

"I admit nothing of the sort," the lion creature growled.

Several minutes into the trees (and the calming of nerves and stomachs), Harry and his friends came across Reno and a bald, dark-skinned Turk arguing along a path.

"Hey Rude," Reno addressed his companion, "Who do you like?" Rude turned away, and Harry could see a blush rising on his dark cheeks. "What are you getting so embarrassed about? Come on! Who do you like?"

Rude was silent for a moment. At length, he said, "...Tifa." At this, Tifa blushed a deep red while shaking her head.

"Hmm...That's a tough one," Reno admitted. "But, poor Elena. She...you..."

Rude shook his head. "No, she likes Tseng."

Reno looked shocked. "I never knew that! But Tseng likes that Ancient..." It was Aeris' turn to blush. Harry looked back and snickered at them. His smirk died, however, when Elena walked up behind them looking furious.

"It's so stupid!" she growled, surprising everyone but Harry, who'd seen her approach. "They always talk about who they like or don't like."

"That is kinda stupid," Harry agreed, taking full advantage of Elena's inattention. "I suppose Tseng is different and doesn't do that, then?"

Elena nodded, giving Harry a small grin. "Right!" She blinked, realizing just who she talking to. "Ah! Oh no!" Harry laughed as she ran forward to Reno and Rude.

"They're here! They're really here!"

"Hmm...Then it's time..." Reno grinned, turning to them. "Rude, don't go easy on them even though they're girls."

"Don't worry, I'll do my job," Rude agreed.

"Hey!" Harry protested. "Watch who you're calling girls!"

"We're counting on you two," Elena said to her Turk compatriots. "I'll report to Tseng!"

"More like snog him senseless," Harry called to her retreating back. He ignored the shocked looks Cloud and Barret gave him, while Tifa and Aeris giggled.

Reno turned to Harry and Cloud. "It's been a while," he said in greeting.

"Not long enough, unfortunately," Harry quipped.

"It's payback time for what you did in Sector 7," Reno added, ignoring Harry's jibe.

"Sector 7?" Harry repeated. He remembered well what happened in Sector 7; he was just attempting to piss Reno off.

"That's sad," Reno commented. "You have such poor memory?"

"Hard to say, really," Harry shot back. "You were just so pathetic, I didn't bother to remember you."

"GAH!" With Reno's cry of outrage, Harry smirked in success. He pulled his sword out in time to parry Reno's furious charge and knock it aside toward Tifa, who knocked him back with a swift, powerful kick to his face. Reno went down hard, and stayed down, clearly knocked out.

"That _was_ pathetic," Cloud commented, looking down at the comatose Turk. He looked up in time to duck Rude's punch. Foregoing his massive sword, Cloud countered with a fast punch into the bald Turk's stomach, leaving his doubled over. Aeris swung her staff and clocked him over the back of the head. The heavy metal rod landed with a THWACK. Rude fell to the dirt face-first. He blinked up at them before succumbing to unconsciousness.

Harry burst out laughing. "Were they always this sad, or did we just get stronger?"

"It helped that you pissed them off, Harry," Red remarked. "Enraging them caused them to act recklessly, granting us an easy victory. Was that your plan all along?"

Harry nodded. "During the war at home, whenever I fought the Dark Lord himself, I always tried to make him angry. He made so many mistakes when he was enraged, it was simple to gain the upper hand in every battle. Unfortunately, he was still so strong magically that those advantages really didn't mean that much, even taken together."

They all chuckled at that, but Aeris' next question sobered them up immediately. "...How could they know we were coming here?"

Cloud looked thoughtful. "They followed us...But there weren't any signs of it. Besides, we were travelling too fast for them to keep up, unless they were in a helicopter, but we would've seen and/or heard that. Then, that means..."

"A spy!? No way!" Tifa cried, finishing his thought.

"I don't even want to think that there's a spy," Cloud said.

"Just great," Cait moaned. "Now everyone's going to suspect me because I'm so new."

"I trust everyone," Cloud nodded.

Harry shrugged. He didn't say anything, but he didn't trust Cait Sith any more than the distance he could throw Hagrid without magic. Especially after the way the stuff cat forced his company upon them.

They turned and headed west, leaving Reno and Rude lying in the dirt (after looting their gil and items, of course) and found, in a crater, a blown-up reactor. The area surrounding the collapsed tower was littered with massive chunks of steel and iron debris. "A ruined reactor..." Cloud mused.

They watched a Shinra, Inc. helicopter landed near the ruined reactor. Two small figures jumped out, poked around the ruins, then climbed back into the copter and flew away.

"Well, that was entertaining," Harry commented dryly.

"Let us find Gongaga," Red replied. They set off, and quickly found the town farther west.

An old man and an old woman (husband and wife) were strolling around the gate. As Harry looked around them at the town, he found that several of the huts were badly damaged, with pieces of metal and lengths of pipe sticking out here and there; more evidence of the destroyed reactor. The old man saw them and greeted them.

"Hm? You travellers? Hey, wait..." he paused when he saw Cloud's eyes. "That glare in your eyes...you in SOLDIER?"

The woman looked up and nodded. "Oh, you're right! Don't you know anything about our son?" she asked. At Cloud's blank look, she added, "His name is Zack. It's been close to ten years since he left for the city, saying that he didn't want to live in the country..."

The old man, presumbly Zack's father, continued the explanation. "He left saying he's going to join SOLDIER. You ever hear of a Zack in SOLDIER?"

"Hmm..." Cloud thought back. "I don't know..."

"Zack..." Aeris whispered suddenly, looking down at the ground.

The couple heard her, though. "Young lady, do you know him?" the old man asked. "I remember he wrote us six or seven years ago saying that he had a girlfriend. Could that have been you?"

Everyone looked at the flower girl, who looked shocked and shook her head. "That can't..."

"Aeris?" Harry inquired. "You okay?"

"What a shock...I didn't know Zack was from this town..." she whispered.

"So it _was_ you!" the woman cried. She looked somewhat happy to have met the girlfriend of her son, eager for news of him, and worry about his wellbeing.

"You know him?" Cloud asked her.

Aeris shook her head at him. "Didn't I tell you? He was my first love."

"I remember," Harry supplied. "We were in the Sector 6 park..."

The flower girl nodded. "Zack...SOLDIER First Class. Same as Cloud."

"Strange..." Cloud muttered, scowling. "There aren't that many who make First Class, but I've never heard of him."

"It wouldn't be impossible," Red reasoned. "If one of you were always away on a mission or something, when the other was there, you'd have never met."

"That's alright," Aeris nodded. "It's all in the past now. I was just worried because I heard he's been missing."

"Missing!?" Cloud, the man, and the woman all gasped in perfect sync.

"I think it was five or seven years ago now," Aeris thought aloud. "He went out on a job, and never came back."

"He did like women," the man mused. "A real lady-killer. I'm sorry to say this, but he may have found someone else. I would think that he would have the decency to at least tell us, if not yourself."

"I don't really mind that I haven't heard from him," Aeris said softly. "But I do feel for you two."

"If that's the case..." Harry thought sadly. "The most likely possibility is...that this Zack is...dead." He sighed. "I'm sorry."

The couple nodded gravely. "We have considered the possibly. Despite his prowling, he always took the time to write us. It's alright, young man; we know that his death is likely a reality, and while it still hurts, we've moved on, I think."

"That's...well, I hesitate to say 'good' to hear, but..." Tifa said slowly.

"I understand what you're trying to say," the old man nodded to her. "So...what brings you folks to this town?"

"We're following a man named Sephiroth. He wears a long black coat, long silver-white hair, and a sword that's longer than he is tall. You haven't seen him, have you?" Harry asked.

Both villagers shook their head. "No, nobody in the village has seen anyone like that. If you came from the Gold Saucer up north, then your best bet to find him would be to the west, in Cosmo Canyon."

Red's eye lit up. "Cosmo Canyon...I hadn't realized it, but we are very close to my home," he said, smiling in fondness of his hometown.

"Well, I suppose we should get going," Cloud remarked. He turned to the couple. "Thanks for your help. And, I'm sorry I couldn't help you with your long-lost son."

"You're welcome, sonny," the old man clapped his gnarled hand on the ex-SOLDIER's shoulder. "It's alright, really."

"If you say so, then we can't change your minds," Barret spoke up. "Let's move on, Cloud."

They turned and, waving good-bye, left back towards the buggy. They fought off a small group of frogs (Red warned Harry that these frogs were rather fond of turning people into frogs, but fortunately, they managed to avoid that particular fate) and arrived at the buggy within the hour. Cloud attempted to take the keys from Harry, but the wizard was too fast for him; he opened the driver's door, slid and buckled in, and started the ignition before Cloud could get to him. "Sorry Cloud, better luck next time."

Cloud sighed loudly. "Sorry guys, I tried."

Aeris giggled. "Harry, would you please not drive so...extremely?" she asked sweetly.

"I dunno," Harry quipped, smirking and raising an eyebrow. "Flying through the air like that was a bloody lot of fun. Do I get anything if I don't drive that way?"

"Being spared from a lot of physical pain and torture?" Red growled, backed up by Barret and, surprisingly, Tifa.

Harry took in the looks on their faces, and smirked. "Until you can find a way to cause more pain than having your very nerves twisted and set afire, don't count on your threats of torture to phase me."

The group blinked at him. "What?"

Harry sighed. "One of the spells the Dark Lord and his minions used often is called the Cruciatus Curse. It's a torture curse; the pain it causes is like having your nerve endings lit on fire, twisted, and pulled, while having every inch of your skin pierced with white-hot knives, all at the same time, and then some. If you're held under it too long, you go insane. Its use on another person, by law, is punishable by a lifetime in prison, minimum."

"Oh."

Without another word, everyone got into the buggy and buckled in. "Right. Everyone belted in?" Harry asked cheerfully. When he received solemn affirmatives, he grinned. "Here we go!" With that, he gunned the engine. With a powerful roar, the buggy shot forward across the plains, with Harry skillfully skirting the edges of every forest they came upon. He slowed down some when crossing the west side of the river they had jumped across earlier that day, and soon enough they were cruising along a dirt track that ran through a red-dirt canyon.

"Cosmo Canyon," Red sighed happily, anxious enough to arrive at home again that he overcame Harry's still-rather-reckless driving.

* * *

Harry: I would not drive like that.

Sirius: Why not? As you said in the story, it's a bloody lot of good fun.

Heh heh.


	35. Ghost Cave

Whoo yeah! Take that, Imperial scum!

Harry: You've been playing Rogue Squadron again, haven't you?

And if I have?

Sirius: Take a break for a while and write!

Pfft. You're just jealous of my mad X-Winging skills.

Harry: _Sirius_ly jealous.

Sirius: Not that joke again!

On another note, Harry's friends make another appearance, though it's really very brief.

Harry: You really need to include them more.

* * *

Harry parked the buggy within an easy minute's walk from the front gate to Cosmo Canyon. Red XIII neatly jumped out the open door (and over an astonished Tifa) and practically flew across the ground and up the stairs. He slowed down to a trot and waited for them at the gate.

"I am home!" he proclaimed to the gateman. "It is I, Nanaki!"

"'Nanaki'?" Harry repeated.

"Hey, Nanaki!" the man at the gate replied happily. "You're safe! Come on, and say hello to Bugenhagen!" Red...er, Nanaki's eye lit up as he leapt nimbly over the man's head and dashed up the stairs Harry could see a little ways back behind the man.

"Cosmo...Canyon...?" Aeris mused. "I wonder if there's any relation to the planet or the Ancients..."

"Red XIII seems different, doesn't he?" Tifa giggled.

"Kinda like a little kid, huh?" Harry nodded.

Cloud spoke to the gateman, who greeted them. "Welcome to Cosmo Canyon. Are you familiar with this land?"

Cloud shook his head 'no.' "I passed through the area a few times several years ago, but I never stopped for a closer look."

The man appeared pleased by the honest response. "Let me explain. People from all over the world gather here to seek the Study of Planet Life." He grimaced. "It's full capacity at present, so I'm afraid I can't let you enter."

"But we..." Harry began to protest, when Red's voice called down from a small ledge above.

"They helped me some when I was on the road. Please let them in."

"Oh, is that so?" the man looked surprised. He turned back to Cloud and Harry. "You helped our Nanaki? Please, come in."

"Who is Nanaki?" Cloud asked.

Harry groaned, smacking the blonde merc upside the back of his head. "Isn't it obvious? We've been calling him 'Red XIII' since we met him!" Cloud's expression was clearly saying, 'Oh.'

"Yes. Nanki is Nanaki. That's his name." With that simple, yet cryptic explanation, the gateman stepped aside and allowed Harry and his comrades to step forward into the town called Cosmo Canyon.

The group split up; Cloud and Barret looked around for a bar/inn, while Tifa and Aeris mingled with the townspeople. Harry didn't see where Cait Sith had slipped off to, but wasn't too concerned. Harry, meanwhile, was poking around a small equipment shop two stories up and inside the standing rockface. "The people of this canyon hate to compete. So, almost everything are replicas. But, that's all right. Some of them you really can use," the shopkeep explained, startling Harry.

Harry gave a sheepish smile, before holding up a Crystal Bangle. "How much?"

"4,800 gil, son," the clerk replied. Harry dug through his money bag and pulled out the requested amount. Not only would he have one more Materia slot than before, but the innate defensive properties of his new bangle were much higher than his old diamond bangle. He switched his Materia over, leaving the Shiva summon orb free to be linked with a support Materia, should he find one.

"Thanks a lot, ma'am," Harry nodded to the shop clerk before climbing the stairs in search of his friend.

Harry climbed up a ladder and found himself in front of a large observatory. The telescope sticking out from the domed roof was massive!

"Here is where I was...I mean...this is my hometown," Red's voice explained, causing Harry to jump and turn around to see the red-furred creature resting before the front the door. "My tribe were protectors of those who appreciate this beautiful canyon and the Planet. My brave mother fought and died here, but my cowardly father left her...I am the last of my race."

"Oh..." Harry looked down. "I'm sorry..."

"It is...fine," Red replied. His eye softened. "Did you know your parents, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No, they were...killed when I was fifteen months old."

"Voldemort?"

"Yeah.

Harry looked up. "You mentioned...your father was a coward?"

Red nodded, his expression (such as it was) hardened again. "Yes. My father...was a wastrel. And so, the mission I inherited from my ancestors, is to protect this place. My journey, ends here."

Harry nodded sadly. "I...understand."

"Hey, Nanaki! You're home!" and old, bald man with a long white beard proclaimed when he stepped out the door. Harry was immediately reminded of the former Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, by this man's presence and demeanor - though it seemed that this man was a little more probable to act in a somewhat childish manner.

"Coming, Grandpa!" Nanaki called back, entering the house with him. Harry smiled slightly, but was surprised when the old man waved him on in.

Red was lieing on a couch in the small room; Harry sat down in a chair across from him, while the old man gleefully pranced around the kitchen, doing absolutely nothing productive. "Harry," Red XIII said. "This is my grandfather, Bugen. He is incredible; he knows everything."

Harry didn't quite believe that last comment. "No disrespect sir, but I find it hard to believe that any one man can know _everything._"

Bugen chuckled. "Indeed. I will not claim to know everything, though Nanaki would say otherwise. I will admit, however, to possessing a great store of knowledge in my head." He smiled at Harry. "I hear that you looked after Nanaki a bit. He is still a child, you see."

Harry hadn't thought it was possible, but Red XIII looked down, the red fur on his muzzle appearing to brighten a bit. "Please stop, grandfather. I'm forty-eight."

"Ho ho hoooo," Bugen chuckled again. "Nanaki's tribe has incredible longevity. So you see, his forty-eight years would only be equivalent to, say, that of a fifteen or sixteen year old in human reckoning."

Harry gasped. "Fifteen or sixteen!?"

"He's quiet, and very deep. You thought he was an adult?" Bugen chided gently.

Red looked depressed. "Grandfather...I want to be an adult. I want to grow up and be able to protect you and the village."

Bugen chuckled a third time, this one being more of the amused patience kind. "No, Nanaki. You can't stand on your own yet." He shook his head. "To do that now would destroy you in the long run." He looked up. "Reaching up into the heavens, threatening to snatch the very stars above the great city of Midgar. You've seen it, haven't you?" he asked Harry, who nodded. "Well..." Bugen shrugged. "That was a bad example. Looking up too much makes you lose perspective."

He hopped up onto the table. "When it is finally time for this planet to die, you'll understand that you know absolutely nothing."

"What the planet...dies?" Harry blinked.

"Ho ho hooo. It may be tomorrow, or a hundred years from now...but it's not too long off now."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked.

Bugen looked sad as he gazed at the floor for a moment. "I can hear the cries of the Planet," he said softly.

Then, a soft, high-pitched wail of unearthly origins came to Harry's ears. He winced at the immense feeling of pain he felt from the cry. "What's that!?"

"The sounds of the stars in the heavens. While this goes on, planets are born, and planets die," Bugen explained. The cry mixed with a deeper, more painful and mournful sound. "Ho ho hooo. That was a scream from this planet. Didn't you hear it? As if to say...'I hurt, I suffer...'"

At last, the wails of anguish dissipated, and Harry could no longer hear the cries of the planet. Red spoke up. "They have come here on a journey to save the planet. Why don't you show them your apparatus?"

Bugen jumped down to the floor. "Ho hoo hooo. To save the planet? Ho ho hooo!"

He turned to Harry. "But, then again, I guess it wouldn't hurt to show him."

"Bugenhagen!" a young boy called, entering through the door. "Several odd looking people have come." He then turned and left, having delivered his message.

"The whole place has gotten busy all of a sudden," Bugenhagen chuckled.

"Harry has brought friends, too. I'll go get them," Red XIII volunteered. "Harry, please call one of them. Only three people can fit in Grandfather's machine."

"Don't worry, my machine won't run away. You go and invite your friends," Bugen agreed. He left through a door in the back, while Harry followed Red XIII outside.

"You're not coming, Red? You'd be the one I'd ask, if I must only invite one," Harry commented.

"I have seen it many times, Harry. I will not be upset for not seeing it once more," Red replied with a smile.

"Okay..." Harry sighed. "I guess I'll ring up Aeris, then."

"If I may ask...why Aeris?" Red questioned. "Would not Cloud, as leader, be the wiser choice?"

"Perhaps...but somehow, I get the feeling that he wouldn't care," Harry answered. "I think he's concerned with finding and defeating Sephiroth."

"Hrm...you're likely correct," Red acquiesced. Harry pulled out his PHS and dialed Aeris' number.

_Brrrring. Brrrring. "Hello?"_

"Hey Aeris. It's Harry. Um..."

_"Spit it out, Harry," Aeris voice giggled._

_I hate it when girls giggle. Makes me feel like a right idiot,_ Harry thought. "Red XIII's grandfather wants to show us something, but I can only invite one other person because only three people can fit."

_"And you're inviting me? How sweet."_

"Well, I'm pretty sure it may have something to do with the Planet. You wanted to learn about the Planet, didn't you?" Harry reasoned. "Besides, Cloud's too busy hunting Sephiroth to care about whether the Planet lives or dies."

_"You have a point, Harry. I'll be there in a few minutes." With that, Aeris hung up._

Harry put away his PHS. "Well, that wasn't _too_ painful."

Red snickered. "You can defeat the strongest evil warlord of your and your parents' time, no sweat, but you can't ask a girl out, Harry?"

"Shut it!" Harry shot back. "I'll have you know, girls are the aboslute scariest things to approach. Give me a few evil warlords and some dragons any day." Red XIII laughed.

* * *

"We're not that scary, are we Ron?" Hermione asked, somewhat coyly.

"Really," Ginny agreed, nudging Ron's ribs. "It's just us. How can we be any worse than dragons and Dark Lords?"

Even Tonks got in on the act. "Yeah, it's not like we'd torture you or anything..." she added, batting her eyelashes.

Ron gulped, his cheeks flushed. "Er...It's just that...you know..." he stammered, causing the girls and Remus to laugh.

"That's enough teasing the poor lad, girls," Shacklebolt chuckled. "You girls may not understand this, but...all boys are awkward and shy at that age, regardless of how good a game they talk."

Hermione and Ginny giggled some more. "Oh, is that how it is?"

Ron could only nod without blushing even harder than he already was.

* * *

Aeris and Harry joined Bugenhagen in the small room the elder had entered. "Ho ho hoooo. It looks like you have them all together. Then, let's begin."

As the lights lowered to near darkness,the platform they stood upon raised up, and a model of the solar system lit up just above their heads. "So pretty...It's just like the real thing!" Aeris gasped in wonder.

Bugenhagen chuckled. "Hmm...yes, pretty good. This, is my laboratory. All the workings of space are entered into this Three-Dimensional Holographic System."

Aeris looked around. "Hey, a shooting star!" she pointed.

"Make a wish, and maybe it'll come true," Harry joked. Aeris swatted his shoulder; he responded by feigning dire injury, causing Aeris to giggle and shake her head in exasperation at his antics.

A second shooting star, followed by a glowing orb and several meteors, shot past them, before getting sucked into a black hole in the corner. "Wow, how wonderful!" Aeris breathed at the beauty.

"Ho ho hooo...Yes, it is something, isn't it?" Bugenhagen agreed. "Well, let's get to the subject. Eventually...all humans die. What happens to them after they die?"

"The body decomposes, becoming compost, and feeds and provides nutrients to the ground, which in turn gives it to plants, who are then consumed by animals, which are, in turn, eaten by predators. It's like a big cycle, I reckon," Harry answered. "One movie called it the 'Cicle of Life.'"

"An apt description, and very good answer," Bugenhagen acknowledged with a smile. "Yes, the body decomposes and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows. But what about their consciousness, their hearts, and their souls?" At Harry's confused expression, Bugen continued. "The soul, too, returns to the Planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on this Planet. In fact, all living things in the universe, are the same." He raised his arms. "The spirits that return to the Planet, merge with one another, and roam the Planet. They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream'. Lifestream...in other words, a path of energy of the souls roaming the Planet." He lowered his arms.

"'Spirit Energy' is a phrase that you should never forget. A new life...children are blessed with Spirit Energy and are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they die, and once again return to the Planet...Of course, there are exceptions, but this is the way of the world." Bugen shook his head. "I've digressed, but you'll understand better if you watch this."

A model of the earth loomed large into their view. Trees and humans are born, rise up (and in the case of humans, walk around), and then die. Their bodies become masses of swirling light, then streak across the surface, merging with other streaks. Across the globe, the energy forms into a new being. Streaks of energy cover the planet, glowing with many colors. Bugenhagen walks over to the planet. "Spirit energy makes all thing possible: trees, birds, and humans." The elder lifted an arm. "No just living things. But Spirit Energy makes it possible for Planets to be Planets." The energy began to converge into Bugen's hand. "What happens if that Spirit Energy were to disappear?" Once all the energy is drawn away from the Planet, the globe turns jet-black and crumbles, huge chunks floating off into space. "These are the basics of the Study of Planet Life," Bugen wrapped up his brief explanation.

"If the Spirit Energy is lost, then this Planet will be...destroyed, right?" Harry summarized.

"Ho ho hooo. Spirit Energy is efficient _because_ it exists within nature," Bugen replied. "When Spirit Energy is forcefully extracted,and manufactured, it can't accomplish its true purpose."

"You're talking about Mako energy, right?" Harry asked.

Bugenhagen shook his head sadly. "Everyday, Mako reactors suck up Spirit Energy, diminishing it. Spirit Energy gets compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako energy. All living things are being used up and thrown away. In other words, Mako energy will only destroy the Planet..." The holograms darkened once more, and as the platform lowered, the lights came back on. "The story of the planets...and those who lived with them...You want to know more? Then you must listen to the words of the elders," Bugenhagen concluded. Harry and Aeris thanked him for his explanation, and left.

* * *

Everyone gathered around the large bonfire in the middle of town that night (Harry had learned it was called the 'Cosmo Candle'). Harry was sitting between Aeris and Barret, with Cait Sith and Red XII across from him; Tifa and Cloud was sitting to the side of the fire, on Harry's right.

"I learned a lot," Aeris told Harry. "The elders taught me many things. About the Cetra...and the Promised Land..." She looked down. "I'm...alone...I'm all alone now..."

Harry was taken aback. "But I...we're here for you, right?"

The flower girl shook her head. "I know, I know, but...I am the only...Cetra."

"Does that mean we can't help?" Harry asked. Aeris looked away, unable to answer.

Harry sighed. He turned around to look at Barret. "Cosmo Canyon...This's where AVALANCHE was born," the large, bear-like black man muttered, half to Harry, half to himself. "I promised my guys someday...when we saved the Planet from the Shinra, that we'd all go to Cosmo Canyon and celebrate...Biggs...Wedge...Jessie..." he sighed, his eyes shut. "Now, they're all gone...died for the Planet...Really? To save the Planet? We all...we all hate the Shinra...Do I even got to go on? Will they...will they ever forgive me?" Barret shook his head.

"Right now, I really don't know. But I know one thing," he continued. He patted his gun-arm. "If there's anything I can do, to save the planet...or the people livin' on it...Then I'm gonna do it!" His voice gained strength and determination. "I don't care if it's for justive or revenge, or whatever. I don't care...let 'em decide for 'emselves." He stood up. "URGGH! I'M GONNA DO IT! Again, AGAIN! AVALANCHE'S BORN AGAIN!"

Everyone glanced at Barret. He blushed and sat back down, and went back to muttering to himself. Harry vaguely thought he was planning something before he stood up and moved over to sit next to Red XIII. "Long ago..."

"Hm?"

"...When I was still very small," Red explained. "We were all around this flame." He shook his head. "No, never mind."

"What happened?" Harry prodded gently.

"It's about my parents..." Red admitted. "When I talk about my mother, I am full of pride and joy...and that's fine. But when I remember my father...my heart is full of anger..."

"You really can't forgive your father, Nanaki?" Bugen's voice asked from the darkness. The owner of that voice stepped into the glowing light of the Candle.

Red nodded. "Of course. He...left mother for dead. When the Gi tribe attacked, he ran off by himsef, leaving Mother and the people of the Canyon!"

Bugen shook his head. "Come, Nanaki. There is something you should see." At Red's confused look, he added, "The place may be dangerous. Harry, will you and one other person come with us?" Harry nodded and stood up. He glanced at his friends, but didn't know who to ask.

Cloud stood up. "I'll come with you," he volunteered.

Cloud, Harry, and Nanaki followed Bugenhagen up into the mountainside, to a sealed door. Bugen flipped a hidden switch, causing the door to open wide. "All right, come in, come in."

"Hey? Aren't you going with us, Grandpa?" Red asked.

"What, are you crazy?" Bugen shook his head quickly. "It's dangerous in there. I told you that! You want an old man like me to go first? I'll be right behind you!"

"I knew of one old man that was powerful," Harry muttered, mostly to himself. "He was, in fact, the only one the Dark Lord ever feared...until I was done with him."

They entered the door, then climbed down the series of ropes and ladders, Cloud and Harry shouldering Red's weight between them as they carefully descended. At the bottom, Bugenhagen stopped them. "Everyone here's a Ghost of the Gi tribe. Killed in a certain battle."

"A certain battle?" Red repeated.

"The vengeful spirits of the Gi didn't disappear, and couldn't return to the Lifestream...We still have far to go. Ho ho hooo."

"Ghosts, huh?" Harry asked. "Is it possible to kill a ghost?"

"These, you can," Bugen answered, "much like you can kill a living being. It is likely that defeating these ghosts will allow them to finally rest, and return to the Lifestream." They emerged into a large chamber. "As you can see, this cave leads to the back of Cosmo Canyon. It was...unfortunate, that the Gi were larger than us. If they attacked through here, we would not have stood a chance." Red was silent. "Let's move on."

The group encountered a trio of the ghosts Bugen had mentioned. Cloud and Red leapt forward, swerving around the apparitions' spears and dismembered them, causing the ghosts to disintegrate. Harry parried a thrust, knocking the spear to his right and away from everyone, then swiped Gryffindor's Sword back across the beast. The enchantments inscribed on the blade leapt into being, sheathing the metal sword in white, holy light. The ghost gave a terrible screech before exploding into fragments, returning to the Lifestream.

Bugenhagen appeared impressed. "Harry, your sword..."

"Hm?"

"It is infused with the power of Holy...that is why it is so powerful against these ghosts," the old man explained. He grinned in amusement. "It was a wise move on my part, to ask you to come along on this trip."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "We thought it was effective against the undead, but...that was the first time it flashed like that..."

"You have faced undead creatures before?"

"A demon house, and a half-horse, half-armor beast," Cloud answered.

Bugen nodded. "Ah, that explains it. The enchantments on Harry's sword are effective against all undead creatures, as you thought. It shines like that, however, when the undead it touches does not have a true physical form, like that house demon you mentioned."

"O...kay."

"We should get moving," Red reminded them, "or we will have to fight here again."

They pressed on, slaying many ghosts while Bugenhagen stayed behind them. A number of spears and short swords, not parts of the ghosts' apparitions, were left behind. Harry noticed a sparkling blue orb, and picked it up. He didn't have the time to examine it carefully, so he slipped it into a pocket for later examination. He stood up in time to hear the next part of Bugenhagen's speech. "This warrior...he went through the cave all alone. Fighting attackers, one after another."

"Grandpa...that warrior..." Red whimpered, his eye growing wide as a saucer plate. Harry had a feeling he knew who this warrior was, and he was sure that Red was coming close to figuring it out, too.

"We're almost there."

They stepped onto a short, narrow bridge of rock. On either side was a bubbling pool of magma. "What is this?" Bugenhagen asked in dismay at the sight of the grotesque statue before them.

"Grandpa, is he...!?" Red began to question, but trailed off as the face began to move. The statue began to dissolve, slowly revealing the ghost of a large Gi chieftan.

"After death...the ghosts of the Gi...like stagnant air...This...can't be!" Bugen cried as Harry, Cloud, and Red XIII leapt forward to battle.

Cloud made the first strike, cleaving the air with his huge sword. The ghost seemed largely unaffected, but it did slow its advance somewhat. Harry reached forward with his Steal Materia, but fell back empty-handed and with the knowledge that it had nothing to steal. Harry shrugged, then leapt into the fray with his shining sword.

Cloud jumped back, motioning everyone to stand aside. He glowed with orange energy wave. He dashed forward with blinding speed, jamming his sword into the chest of the Gi ghost, edge facing up. Cloud twisted it a little, causing a bit more damage, before shoving his shoulder underneath the flat of his blade and leaping up, dragging the sword up with him and ripping it straight up out of the ghost's body. Despite being injuried severely from being literally ripped in half, the ghost didn't...well, die, yet.

Cloud landed beside Bugenhagen and growled. "Come on! What does it take to kill this thing!?"

Harry ducked under the spear that the ghost swung at him, then jumped forward and slashed. He jumped back, narrowly evading a counter spell of Fire. Red XIII threw a Fira back, but it had little effect. Harry, too, was beginning to feel Cloud's frustration.

The ghost then caught them all (except Bugenhagen, who wasn't part of the battle) in a Fira spell, leaving the three live combatants burned and their clothes and fur singed. It was enough to fill Harry's sword up with the orange energy of a Limit Break, but since Red wasn't ready, he couldn't use a Combo Break. Nevertheless, Harry mimicked a wand motion with Gryffindor's Sword, chanting, "_REDUCTO MAXIMA!_" Several Reductor curses spiralled out from the tip of the blade, then they all zeroed in on the ghost. The magical explosions finished off the Gi chieftan, leaving the passage clear.

Bugenhagen sighed softly, letting out his breath. "Thank you, Harry, Cloud. Because of you, we survived. Nanaki, you have grown strong, too."

"Oh yeah?" Red grunted, not amused.

"Now, I know that it wasn't a mistake, bringing you here...Come, Nanaki. I have something I want to show you. Right over here." Bugenhagen led them outside, where a huge pile of boulders surrounded by fog stood in the center. Red leapt onto the first boulder.

"This is..." he whispered, looking up. Harry looked up and saw a stone statue of a creature, the same specie as Red XIII, but puckered with stone arrows.

"...The warrior who fought agains the Gi," Bugenhagen finished for Nanaki. "He kept them from taking even one step into Cosmo Canyon." Bugen stepped forward. "But...he was never able to return to town..." He gazed up at the statue. "Look, Nanaki. Look at your father, at the warrior...Seto."

"That...That's...Seto?" Red gasped, trembling.

"Seto continued to fight the Gi tribe here...To protect this Canyon," Bugenhagen explained. "Even after the Gi's poisonous arrows turned his body to stone...Even after they all ran away...Seto continued to protect us. And he continues to protect us, even now."

"Even now..." Red repeated.

"You thought that he was a coward and ran away," Bugenhagen said. His tone wasn't accusing or chiding, just...matter of fact. "But he, alone, risked his life to protect Cosmo Canyon. That is your father...Seto."

Red looked at Bugen. "That...That is Seto? ...Did Mother know?"

"Ho ho hooo...she knew. The two of them made me promise to keep this cave shut. They asked me to seal it myself, and not to tell a soul. They said we should forget about this cave." There was an awkward silence, before Bugenhagen turned to Cloud and Harry. "Would...you two mind leaving the two of us alone...for a minute?" The two men nodded, turned, and left without looking back.

* * *

Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Tonks, Remus, and Shacklebolt watched the scene on the television carefully. "Nanaki, I want you to continue your journey with Harry and the others," 'Bugenhagen' said.

"Grandpa!?" 'Nanaki' gasped, looking up in surprise.

"Listen, Nanaki...Cloud says they are trying to save the Planet," 'Bugenhagen' explained. "Honestly...I don't think it can be done. For even if they stop every reactor on the Planet, it's only going to postpone the inevitable. Even if they stop Sephiroth, everything will eventually perish." He stopped pacing. "But, Nanaki. I've been thinking lately. I've been thinking if there was anything _we_ could do. As a part of the Planet, something to help a planet already in misery...No matter what happens, isn't it important to try? Am I...just wishing against fate?" He shook his head. "I am...too old to do anything about it...This year, I'll be one hundred thirty. Ho ho hooo."

"Wow, that's pretty old for not being a wizard," Ron commented softly.

'Bugenhagen' raised his arms. "That is why, Nanaki, you must go with them! For my sake."

"Grandpa..."

"I wanted to show you your real father before you left," 'Bugenhagen' continued. "I'm so glad that you came back while I was still alive to show you."

'Red XIII' shook his head. "Grandpa...don't talk like that. I don't want to think of life...without you..."

"Ho ho hooo....Well, I've had a long life," 'Bugen' commented lightly.

"He sounds a lot like Dumbledore," Ginny remarked. Ron nodded absently.

"Grandpa! You must live!" 'Red' barked. "I'll see to it. I'll see to what's happening to the Planet. And I'll come back to tell you."

"Nanaki..."

'Nanaki' leapt forward with courage. "I am Nanaki, of Cosmo Canyon! The son of the warrior, Seto! I'll come back a warrior, true to that noble name! So please, Grandpa..." Red looked up at a soft tinkling sound; droplets of water fell from above, fell from the eyes of the warrior-turned-statue, Seto.

"That's...Seto's...Seto..." 'Bugen' muttered, astonished.

"Seto...Fa-Father..." Red whispered. He jumped up to the highest boulder, allowing the tears to splash onto his face. He howled at the full, yellow moon in mourning.

Hermione and Ginny both had tears pricking at their eyes, too. "That's...really sad," the red-head whispered.

"Hm...but I think...it's a good thing, that he learned the truth about his dad," Ron answered.

Hermione patted Ron's hand. "You're right, Ron. And here I was thinking that you had the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Ron's cheeks flushed, but he didn't snipe back with a response...largely because he couldn't come up with any.

* * *

Cloud and Harry had rejoined the others at the Cosmo Candle. They sat in silence for a few minutes after they explained what happened in the cave. After a minute, Cloud stood up. "Shall we get going?"

The others stood as well. "So this...is it...Red XIII..." Aeris whispered.

"That's just the way it goes..." Barret intoned. "You came in handy at times..."

"Well..." Harry said. "I guess...we'll see each other again...sometime."

As they exited the gate, they heard a voice. "Wait for me! I'm coming too!" They turned around and saw Red XIII, running full tilt toward them, tail flowing in the wind. He sported a newly-acquired, but somewhat old headdress. It consisted of several feathers, which were arrayed to lay back from his skull. Nanaki skidded to a halt before them.

"Cloud, Harry," Bugen's voice called to them from above. "Please look after Nanaki."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

Red shrugged his shoulders impishly. "I think I grew up a little. That's what happened!" With that, Red leapt clear over his astonished friends and sat down by the buggy. Harry laughed.

"Well...don't that just beat all..."

* * *

And that wraps up chapter number thirty five!

Harry: So, what's with that headdress thing?

It's Seto's. His momento. Didn't you read the chapter title?

Sirius: Well yeah, but...

*sigh* You may not understand it if you haven't played the game...in the game, Red equips various headdresses, combs, and hairpins to boost his attack power. Don't ask me how; he just does. More then likely, though, it's just a mechanic of the game. He doesn't actually attack with these armaments, they just boost his muscular strength, similar to power-boosting rituals wizards and witches can undertake.

Harry: Yeah, but almost all of those rituals are Dark.

And they're really only 'Dark' because they require unwillingly given substances of sentient, magically-powerful creatures, and sacrifices of human and/or wizard lives.

Sirius: Right. If it weren't for sacrifices, and if the blood and stuff were willingly given, it wouldn't be 'Dark.' As a matter of fact, some rituals increase in power if the magical substances are given willingly by the creatures they come from. But, good luck in getting those creatures to agree to give of themselves for your own selfish gain.


	36. The Shinra Mansion

*sigh*

Sirius: What's up with you? I'd have thought you be grateful for a day off work _and_ class.

I can't spend my free day with my girlfriend.

Sirius:*snicker*

Harry: Sirius, I wouldn't...

Sirius: *chuckles. Cor pulls his twin pistols.*

Something to say, Sirius?

Sirius: *gulps* No, nothing.

Alride den.

* * *

The drive toward the mountains in the distance was a drive made in silence. "We're approaching...Nibelheim."

Well, almost.

"Hm?" Harry glanced at Cloud. "Is something wrong?"

Cloud met his gaze, then shook his head. "No, nothing. But...you won't be able to bring the buggy."

Harry frowned. "Well, I suppose we could always sell it. The money may come in handy."

"You're assuming that the town was rebuilt, Harry," Red admonished.

Harry brought the buggy to a stop. "That's because it is." He pointed.

"WHAT...!" Tifa gasped. "But Cloud...this was all supposed to be burnt down, right?"

"I thought so," Cloud nodded solemnly.

They got out of the buggy and stepped into the plaza. An old, slightly-decrepit well stood proud in the center of the small square, and the houses looked exactly as they did in Cloud's description of five years ago. "It all looks...just like you said it did, Cloud."

"My house is still there, too..." Tifa muttered.

"Something's strange..." Aeris agreed.

"I'm not lying!" Cloud shook his head. "I remember...the intense heat of the flames..."

"We're not doubting you, Cloud," Red remarked. "Maybe we should ask the townspeople? Surely Tifa and Cloud cannot be the only survivors."

The group split up; Harry went with Cloud, Aeris with Barret, Red and Cait Sith with Tifa. Harry and Cloud pushed through the door to the inn. "Hi, welcome!" the innkeeper called cheerfully.

"This town...it was supposed to have burnt down five years ago," Cloud spat. "What the hell is going on?"

The innkeeper blanched. "Sir, don't say such awful things. I was born and raised in this town. What you say never happened."

_What I wouldn't give for some Veritaserum right now..._ Harry mused. "You're lying," he said aloud.

"EXCUSE ME...that's so rude," the innkeeper snapped. "If you're going to talk like that to me, I'm going to have ask you to leave."

Harry glanced at Cloud, who looked about ready to rip the keeper limb from limb. Harry put his hand on the merc's shoulder and pulled him outside.

"Harry!" Cloud snapped at him.

Harry blinked. "You called me 'Harry,' Cloud," he said quietly, pulling a Luna.

Cloud blinked at him, the quietness of the statement derailing his chain of thought.

"Any luck?" Aeris asked, stepping out of the store with Barret. Harry shook his head.

"No, I had to pull Cloud away before he went mad on the bloke," Harry motioned toward the inn. He noticed Cloud walking away toward a one-story house next to a two-story house. From his description in Kalm, Harry recognized it as his mother's home. He, Aeris, and Barret followed him quickly.

They pushed through the door a second behind Cloud, who was trembling with anger. "What is it?" a voice asked. Harry looked, and scowled. Standing there at the stove and looking at them disapprovingly was a slightly plump woman, dark wooden spoon in hand.

"I lived in this house until I was fourteen...seven years ago," Cloud explained. He looked at the floor in sadness. "No, but this town was burned down five years ago..."

"Are you sick...saying those things?" the woman snarled, brandishing her spoon. "Get out of here!"

Harry, for once, lost his temper. He would _not_ be threatened with a wooden spoon! "Excuse me, lady, but what do you think you can do with a bloody spoon!?" he snapped, showing off the hilt of his sword. He didn't draw completely.

"Harry!" Aeris admonished.

"G-Get out!"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Ain't even worth the bloody effort." With that, he turned and stomped out, his comrades following him. They ran into Tifa, Red, and Cait Sith.

"No luck, huh?" Tifa asked, seeing their expressions.

"No, not unless you count almost killing two villagers as 'luck,'" Harry snorted.

"The Shinra Mansion, for some reason, escaped the blaze," Cloud remembered. He looked to the north. "It's still standing."

"There might be information there," Red reasoned. "We should search the place."

"Oh, before I forget..." Tifa, who had been given the key to the buggy, handed Harry a bag bulging with gil. "I did manage to sell the buggy for a very good price."

Harry nodded. "Right." He turned to everyone. He glanced at the bag. "Should we split this?"

"It was your buggy, Harry," Red remarked, shaking his head.

"Keep it, kid," Cloud agreed. Barret nodded.

Harry shrugged. He _did_ try, at least. He tucked the bag into a pocket - and pulled out the Materia orb he'd found the Canyon cave. "Where'd that Materia come from?" Red asked.

"The cave behind Cosmo Canyon," Harry answered. "Let's see..."

_Elemental Support Materia. When linked to a Magic or Summon Materia with an element, this Materia applies that element to offense or defense. In the case of defense, damage received from that element is halved. At later levels, received damage is negated or absorbed and added to the wearer's strength._

"It's Elemental," Harry said at last. He slid into the open slot linked to the Shiva materia. "Shiva is an ice elemental, right?" Cloud nodded. "I'll be safe from cold, then, I guess."

A few minutes later, they stood before the door to Shinra Mansion. "There could be places where the wood has rotted away," Cloud warned, "so watch your step."

They stepped into the foyer. Many surfaces were covered with grime, mold, and moss. Harry had the urge to sneeze, but he resisted it; Red, on the other hand, _did_ sneeze.

They climbed the steps carefully, wary of falling through, and went to the fireplace in Cloud's memory. He pushed the brick he remembered, and the secret passage opened. They climbed down the spiral staircase and walked down the corridor, stopping once only to bat away bats intent on gorging on their blood. When they entered the library, Harry noticed two test tubes in the corner of the room right away. He went up to them and noticed some scratches on the inside. He tilted his head, trying to read them, but he was interrupted when Cloud cried, "Sephiroth!"

Harry jerked around and saw the platinum-haired man standing at the end of the hallway. "Being here brings back memories." He turned his green-blue eyes on Cloud. "Are you going to participate in the Reunion?"

"I don't even know what a Reunion is," Cloud replied.

"Jenova will be at the Reunion. Jenova will rejoin the Reunion, becoming a calamity from the skies," Sephiroth explained.

"That doesn't explain what a 'Reunion' is," Harry commented.

"Jenova, a calamity from the skies?" Cloud repeated. "You mean she wasn't an Ancient?"

Sephiroth studied the blonde merc momentarily. "I see. I don't think you have the right to participate." He paused. "I will go north, past Mt. Nibel. If you wish to find out...then follow..."

Cloud crossed his arms and took on a thoughtful expression. "Reunion...? Calamity from the skies?"

Sephiroth threw a green Matera orb at Cloud. Harry's seeker reflexes kicked in and he snatched it out the air before it smashed into Cloud's nose. They all ducked when Sephiroth rose into the air and flew at them, leaving the library. Harry handed the Materia to Cloud, who looked at it closely before shrugging and putting it in a Materia bag.

"Well, we have a new lead," Tifa whispered.

Harry nodded, then, his eye catching on the tubes again, he went back to them. "What is it, Harry?" Nanaki asked.

"There were...marks on the inside of this tube," Harry replied. He searched the glass. "Strange...but I can't find them, now."

"Hm...?" Cloud came over, placing his gloved hand on the glass. Harry looked up at him, and noticed his eyes were glazed over.

"Cloud?" When the mercenary didn't answer, Harry gripped his shoulder and shook him lightly. "Cloud?" he called again, more loudly.

Cloud jerked back. He smiled sheepishly at everyone. "Sorry...Alright...let's go to Mt. Nibel."

* * *

*Cor stretches and yawns* I'm already tired. Hrm...

Harry: You really like having me act Out of Characterly, don't you?

I dunno. I am trying to keep In Character with all the characters...and with a sarcastic sense of humor for Harry.

Sirius: A Slytherin's sense of humor, you mean?

...Perhaps...


	37. The Mountains of Mt Nibel

Sirius: _Two_ chapters in one day, Cor?

What? I got an unexpected day off from both work and class.

Harry: But you never write this much on a week_end_.

_So?_

Harry and Sirius: *sigh* Nevermind.

* * *

Cloud and Tifa led the group along a dirt trail that ran to the north from town; it soon turned rocky and began to slope upward. Pretty soon, Harry, Aeris, and Cait Sith were panting heavily as they trudged up the ever-steeper path. At some points the path was so steep they had to climb up - literally. It wasn't ever more than a few feet above their heads (Red easily leapt up these short heights), but it often leaned outward at the top, requiring some finesse in rock climbing skill to get up and over without aid (Cloud and Tifa did this easily - everyone had to help pull Barret up, though, because of his size). They also had to stop every so often to fight off monsters, but their combined strength sufficed easily. It wasn't until dusk when before the path leveled out, and by then, even Cloud was breathing slightly heavier than normal.

On the plus side, Tifa felt an accomplishment: she'd reached the third tier of Limit Breaks, as evidenced when she delivered a massive uppercut to a beast, leaving it seeing dolphins. Harry privately thought that he had heard the echo of a dolphin or two, as well as the sound of rushing water, when the bartender's fist connected, but he didn't say anything about it.

The next day, almost immediately after setting off, the group encountered the rickety rope bridge Cloud mentioned during his flashback. "Hey, Cloud?" Harry called. "Isn't this thing...I dunno...about to collapse?"

"Again?" Red XIII agreed. Cait Sith looked somewhat confused - not that it was easy to tell, what with Cait being an animated stuff cat and all.

"It'll be fine," Cloud replied. "It's not gonna break."

Harry groaned theatrically. "Now you've gone and jinxed us."

"You're being superstitious, Harry," Aeris giggled.

Naturally, when the group made it half-way across the bridge, the ropes snapped, plunging them down onto the ledge below. "'It's not gonna break,'" Harry repeated sarcastically, mocking the merc and the flower girl. "'You're being superstitious, Harry'." Switching back to his normal tone, he added, "Who's being superstitious now?"

"We get it, we get it!" Cloud and Aeris snapped at him. Everyone else chuckled.

Harry grinned. "That felt good...payback for all your teasing back in Costa de Sol." He ignored the grumbling of the two and stood up, stretching. "Tifa, you know the way from here, right? Better than Cloud?"

The bartender nodded. "Yeah. Follow me!"

The trip through the caves was slow, since it was packed (not quite literally, but close) with monsters that the group was forced to fight their way through, stopping every few steps. Everyone save Harry had reached the third tier of Limit Breaks...well, except for Cait Sith, who, being an animated stuffed toy, didn't have any. His 'moogle' (as he called it) was awfully good at bludgeoning enemies with its giant hands, though.

They stopped for lunch at the now-almost dried Mako fountain. It seemed that the inhabitants of the mountain didn't like the feeling in that particular chamber, so they felt safe enough for a bite to eat and quick rest. They pressed on shortly afterwards, and comparatively quickly reached the old Mako reactor sitting on the mountaintop. Cloud took the lead, here. "There's a path behind the Reactor that leads down the north side of the mountain range and to the plains beyond."

Unfortunately for them, said path was blocked by a massive, insect-like creature whose eyes glowed a sinister, if sickly-looking yellow. "Get outta our way!" Cait Sith wailed, pulling out a grenade and throwing it. The hand-held bomb flew through the air, bouncing to a stop just before the beast. It exploded a second later, blowing a leg off and hindering its mobility.

Harry blinked. "Not bad, Cait." The stuffed cat purred in pleasure.

Barret let loose with his standard hail of gunfire. Red and Aeris both let loose with magic, pinning the monster down further. Tifa cast Thundara once, but when it seemed to have _healed_ the creature, she resorted to her fists. Cloud stepped in and swung his sword several times after another, leaving a number of cuts all over.

The creature roared in pain and fury, glowing for a second before releasing its stored power. A triangle of yellow light, filled with looked like electrical sparks, surrounded them and leaving them stunned, face-down in the dirt. Harry and Cloud were the first to get up, following shortly by Red and Barret. Tifa and Aeris were right behind them, and Cait hissed as his moogle-steed climbed to its feet. "Alright, guys...I'm gonna call Shiva," Harry announced. They stepped back as Harry touched the Red Materia on his armlet. For a few seconds, he was surrounded in green light as glowing orbs marked with runes floated up out of the ground and flew away in a spiral. Unnoticed by Harry, the air got colder, and soon, Shiva, Fairy of the Frozen North, appeared. She gave Harry a brief, warm smile before turning to face the injured insect. She threw several bolts of ice, surrounding the overgrown bug with white ice and freezing it in place. She then reached forward with one hand and, with a simple **SNAP** of her fingers, the ice cracked, shattered, and dove into the monster's flanks. Harry nodded his thanks to the Ice Queen as she faded from view, the temperature returning to normal and his comrades rejoining him. "That was _cool_," Harry quipped, causing everyone (including the monster, it appeared) to groan at the pun.

"Harry," Nanaki whined. "Don't ever do that again. Our ears can't take that kind of torture!" Harry laughed in response, stopping to duck a swipe from the beast. Cloud jumped forward and smashed his sword in a downstroke, pretty much cleaving the monster in two.

"Next time you make a joke like that, kid, and that'll be _you_," Cloud warned. Harry grinned and waved, not at all worried.

After rounding themselves up (and gathering the spoils of the battle, which included a hefty amount of gil that was split between them, and a new bangle that was enchanted for double the Materia growth but only held two unlinked Materia slots), the group set off once more. They reached the plains by sunset. The next morning, they set off, walking west to go 'round a tail of small mountains, before heading north, towards a towering figure in the distance. It wasn't until they neared the structure that Harry recognized it as a rocket, similar to the old-style Muggle spacerockets.

It seemed that a town had sprung up around the old, rusting rocketship. A man at the edge of town greeted them. "Welcome to Rocket Town!"

* * *

Well, that was a short chapter. Next chapter, and Harry finally meets the mainstay of all Final Fantasies, after the very first one. Enter Cid!

Sirius: What's he like?

You'll see in the next chapter. Hate to spoil it, you know.

Harry: That didn't stop you from telling Sirius I would be spending three chapters disguised as a girl, Cor!

Oh yeah, forgot about that.

Sirius: Yeah, that was great, that.

Harry: Grr!

Sirius: Cor, I think we'd better run.

Agreed. *Cor and Sirius run away, Harry chasing them intent on giving them a Very Bad Beating.*


	38. Enter the Kapitan

So, yeah. Hmm...Nine hours of work is hard on ya.

Hermione: Didn't you take a break?

*blink* Wait, where's Sirius?

Hermione: He begged off today, and asked me to fill in since he couldn't find anyone else.

Harry: What'd he beg off for?

Hermione: *shrug* I dunno.

* * *

"What's that?" Cloud asked, leaning back to look up at the rocket. The old, rusted spaceship was tilting dangerously toward one side."A rusty old rocket...wonder what they'd make something that huge for?"

"To fly into space?" Harry questioned.

The man who greeted them nodded. "If you want to find out more, you should ask the Captain."

"Who's the 'Captain'?" Tifa asked.

"The Captain was a pilot when Shinra was still interested in their Space Program," the guy replied. "He was going to be the world's first astronaut, the first man in space...but there was an accident." He paused, shook his head, and sighed sadly. "Ever since then, he's been wasting his life away here dreaming about going into outer space."

A minute of silence later, the man continued. "Everyone in this town was a mechanic back when they were planning to launch the rocket. That rusted old rocket," he waved at the leaning ship, "is all that remains of the Shinra's Space Program."

"I see. Thank you for your time," Nanaki said as they passed deeper into town.

Harry looked around and spotted a small pink plane wing sticking out over a short white fence behind a house. "Hey...what is that?" he pointed.

Cloud took a closer look over the fence. "There's a Shinra logo on it. 'Tiny Bronco'...This is cool!"

"Let's take it! OK, Cloud!" Aeris suggested.

Harry shook his head. "We can't do that..."

"Yeah, we'd be no betta than the Shinra!" Barret agreed.

"Um...may I help you?" a soft woman's voice asked. They turned and saw a woman step out of the house and walk toward them.

"No, we're just looking at it," Cloud admitted.

"...If you would like to use it, please ask the Captain. He should be in the Rocket." She paused and tilted her head at them. "I'm Shera. And what are your names?"

"I'm Harry," Harry introduced. "This is Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Red XIII, Barret, and Cait Sith."

"Hm...so you're not with the Shinra? I thought the approval for the reopening of the Space Program came." At their surprised expressions, Shera added, "President Rufus is scheduled to come here. The Captain's been so restless all morning." She stepped back into the house.

"Rufus!?" Cloud repeated when he came out of his shock.

"Let's go see the Captain," Harry suggested. "He'll probably know more."

"Yeah...heh heh..." Barret nodded. Harry shot him a strange look.

* * *

The climb to the door on the rocket was fairly easy despite the height. Only Cloud and Harry went up, since the platforms and the ladders didn't look to be in that great of shape. They found a gray-haired man in a flight jacket working on some mechanics, stopping now and then to take a drag on his cigarette. He spotted them as he looked up. "What're you guys doin' here?" he asked, voice hoarse from smoking and probably alcohol.

"We heard the 'Captain' was here," Cloud explained.

"'Captain?" I'm the Captain," the man chuckled darkly, standing up. Harry noticed a spear laying on the floor at the end of the short corridor. "The name's Cid. Everyone calls me 'Captain,' though. What d'ya want?"

Harry's curiousity got the better of him. "Tell me about this rocket," he asked.

Cid laughed, a more healthy sounding one. "Wow! Not bad for a kid. Alright then, I'll explain it to you." He scratched his head. "You know Shinra developed a lot of technological gadgets during the meaningless war, right? Now it's a Mako company, but in the old days it was a weapons manufacturer." Cloud nodded, understanding. "Well, they came up with a Rocket Engine. There was so much excitement about the thought of going into outer space. Our dreams got bigger and bigger. They put a major budget into it and made prototype after prototype. Finally, they completed Shinra No. 26...this rocket here." He patted the rusted wall somewhat lovingly. "They chose the best pilot in Shinra -- no, in the world -- me. I mean, come on."

"And then, finally, we get to the day of the launch. Everything was goin' well..." Cid broke off and kicked the wall with a lot of force. "But, because of that dumb-ass Shera, the launch got messed up. That's why they became so anal!" Cid turned back to them. "And so, Shinra nixed their outer space exploration plans. After they told me how the future was Space Exploration and got my damn hopes up...DAMN THEM!" He turned back to the wall, where there was now a sizeable dent. "Then, it was all over once they found out Mako energy was profitable. They didn't even so much as look at space exploration. Money, moola, dinero! My dream was just a financial number for them!"

Cid sighed. "Look at this busted Rocket. I was supposed to be the first man in space with this." He shook his head again. "Everyday, it tilts a little more. At this rate, I don't know which will come first, this thing falling down or me gettin' outta here." He slumped against the wall. "My last hope is to talk to the President..."

"Yeah, about that...is Rufus really coming?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah," Cid nodded. "It must be news about restarting the Space Program...A young President, that's what we need! He still has dreams, too!"

"I doubt that," Harry muttered. He sighed and made a 'peace-offering' motion. "I suppose it's out of the question to let us borrow your plane, then?"

Cid shook his head furiously. "You out of your fucking mind!? That's my most cherished possession! I can't let you take it!"

_That's what I figured,_ Harry thought as he said goodbye and left, a quiet and thoughtful Cloud following in his wake.

* * *

Cloud and Harry met up with the others outside the fence surrounding the Tiny Bronco and relayed what had happened up in the rocket. They were interrupted, however, when Shera poked her head out. "Excuse me...Cloud?" She came up to the fence. "Did the Captain say anything?"

Cloud shook his head. "Nope."

"Oh?"

At that moment, Cid came around the corner of the house. "Damn! Shera. What are you, blind!? We got guests. GET SOME TEA!" he trailed off, grumbling under his breath.

Shera shrank down. "I...I'm sorry." She hurried inside, presumably to make tea. Cid impatiently beckoned everyone inside to the kitchen, where Shera was working at the stove.

"Really, don't mind us," Tifa said.

"Shut up!" Cid barked. "Sit your ass down in that damn chair and drink your goddamn TEA!" He paused. "Arggggh! DAMN, I'm pissed! Shera! I'll be in the backyard tunin' up the Tiny Bronco!" He jumped to his feet and stomped toward the backdoor. "An' make sure to serve them some tea! All right!?"

"Sheesh..." Aeris muttered after Cid slammed the door shut behind him. "What bad manners!"

"No kidding," Harry agreed.

Cloud turned to Shera. "Sorry. It's our fault."

The woman turned to look at them. "No, no. He's always like this."

"Always?" Tifa gasped. "Why is Cid so hard on you?"

Shera shook her head. "No...It's because of my stupid mistake. I was the one who destroyed his dream."

"What happened?" Red asked.

**Flashback**

**Cid was watching Shera work on the fourth of eight tanks designed to provide the necessary mix of gases and chemical essential to sustaining human life. "Hey!" Cid barked, laughing. "Get your ass in gear! You work like a snail! Even the moon'd get tired waitin' around for your ass!"**

**Shera stood up and turned to Cid. "I'm...I'm sorry."**

**"Don't take so much time checkin' that effin' oxygen tank!" Cid ordered. "Shera, bein' careful's good, but it won't do any good no matter how many times you check that oxygen tank. That thing wouldn't break even if hell froze over."**

**"But..." Shera protested.**

**Cid waved his arms around. "No buts!! Shera, you're not stupid, so be more efficient!"**

**"I'm sorry..."**

* * *

**Several workers are making some last-minute adjustments when Cid, the pilot, walks into the corridor. They stop, stand up, and salute. "Captain! Our dreams are fianlly coming true!" the first worker cried.**

**"We are so proud to be a part of the launch of Shinra No. 26," the second added.**

**"Captain, preparations are complete! All that's left is lift off!" the third concluded.**

**Cid laughed. "Yeah! Leave it all to me! I'll be back in a few!"**

**"All right, Captain! Fly our dreams into outer space!" the final mechanic encouraged.**

**Just before stepping into the cockpit, Cid stopped. "Thanks, guys!"**

**Inside the cockpit, Cid sat in the pilot's seat. "Instrument panel...all clear. Shinra No. 26, ready for launch."**

**The radio crackled to life. "Engine pressure rising. Shinra No. 26, three minutes to launch. Beginning countdown."**

**"...Finally," Cid whispered. Suddenly, an alarm sounded, red warning lights flashing. "What the? What happened?"**

**A panicked voice came in over the radio. "Cid! We have an emergency situation! A mechanic is still in the engine section of the rocket!"**

**"What!? Who is the little shit!?**

**"I don't know. Activating the intercom in the engine section."**

**Down in the engine room, Shera was toiling with the seventh tank. She stood up as Cid's voice came in over the intercom. "Hey goddammit!! Who the hell's still in there?"**

**"It's Shera, Captain. Don't mind me, go ahead with the launch."**

**"Shera!? What are you still doin' in there!?"**

**"I was still concerned. The results of the oxygen tank test weren't satisfactory."**

**"You stupid little bitch!" Cid cursed. "It's gonna get so hot in there that there ain't gonna be SHIT left when we blast off! You're gonna be burnt to a crisp! You're gonna die! You know that, doncha!?"**

**Shera shook her head, unperturbed by Cid's swearing. "I don't mind. If I can just fix this, the launch will be a success. I'm almost done." She turned back to the tank and resumed testing.**

**"Almost done!?" Cid repeated. "You're gonna die!"**

**Another voice came in over the intercom. "Cid, we must start the countdown. We won't make it if we don't!"**

**Cid was panicking in the cockpit. "Starting engine!" the voice on the radio announced.**

**Cid protested. "Hey, wait a minute! Shera's still in there!"**

**"What are you going to do, Cid? If we cancel now, it'll be another six months until the next launch!"**

**"GODDAMMIT, Shera...you wanna make me a murderer?" Cid moaned.**

**Shera's voice came in over the intercom. "Captain!"**

**"Shera!?" Cid asked.**

**"Tank Number 7 check is complete. Once I complete Tank Number 8, it's all clear," Shera said.**

**"Come on, Shera...hury up...You're gonna die..." Cid whispered.**

**"Cid! Forget about her. We won't make it in time!" the previous voice urged.**

**"What...what am I...What am I supposed to do...?" Cid muttered to himself.**

**"Fifteen seconds until ignition. Internal temperature rising."**

**"Oh man, the moon...outerspace...my dreams..." Cid moaned in anguish.**

**"Ignite engine!"**

**Cid's head snapped up. "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" he cried, smashing the Emergency Shutdown Button just as a rumbling sound began to build. The rocket engine ignited, then stopped within seconds. The rocket, which had begun to lift off, fell back to earth, lost its balance, and began to tip over, coming to rest off-center in the launch platform.**

**End Flashback.**

"He pushed the Emergency Engine Shut Down switch, aborting the mission, to save my life," Shera concluded. "After that, the Space Program was cut back and the launch was canceled. It's my fault his dream was destroyed." She shook her head slowly. "That's why...it's all right. I don't care what the Captain says, I'll live my life for him."

Cid came back in. "Shera! You still haven't served 'em tea!"

"I...I'm sorry!" Shera rushed back to the stove to finish making the tea.

Cid crashed into a chair and placed one foot on the table. "Hurry up and sit down! Or ain't my hospitality good enough for you!?" Cid barked, not waiting for an answer. He leaned his head into one hand and tapped his foot. "They're late...Where is Rufus...?"

The front door opened at that moment and a rather portly fellow waddled in. Harry immediately recognized him as the bloke they'd squeezed information out of back in Shinra HQ, after Sephiroth had decimated the building. "Hey-HEY! Long time no see! So Cid, how ya been?"

Cid hopped up onto his feet, an impressive feat of athleticism from his position. "Well, if it ain't fat man, Palmer. How long were you figurin' on keepin' me waitin'!?" He stepped up to the man. "So? When's the Space Program gonna start up again?"

Palmer shifted uneasily. "Hey-hey! I don't know. The President's outside, so why don't you ask him?"

"Shit! Good for nothing fat bastard!" Cid swore angrily, before stepping past Palmer and walking outside.

"Don't say 'fat'!" Palmer protested. He then spotted Shera. "Hey-hey! Tea! Can I have some too? With lotsa sugar and honey and...oh yeah, don't forget the lard!"

Cloud, Harry, and Barret poked their heads out different windows to watch as Cid confronted Rufus. They could just hear the words of the conversation. "What the...!" Cid cried. "You got me all excited for nothing!? Then, what'd you come here for?"

"I want to borrow the Tiny Bronco," Rufus replied calmly. "We're going after Sephiroth, but it seems like we've been going in the wrong direction. But now, we think we know where he's headed. But, we have to cross the ocean. That's why we want your plane..."

"Bullshit!" Cid protested angrily. "First the Airship, then the Rocket, and now, the Tiny Bronco. Shinra took outer space away from me, and now you want to take the sky away from me too!?"

"Oh, my..." Rufus sneered. "You seem to forget it was because of Shinra, Inc. that you were able to fly in the first place."

"What!?" Cid cried.

"Uh, excuse me, Cloud?" Shera's voice came from behind them. Tifa and Red had been gathered behind Harry, Aeris around Barret, and Cait Sith behind Cloud. Harry fought a blush from rising onto his cheeks when his eyes strayed to Tifa's chest for a second longer than was strictly neccessary. "You wanted to use the Tiny Bronco, right?" Shera asked. The group nodded. "I believe Palmer's going to take it. Why don't you talk to him?"

"Well, the plane is big enough to carry us all..." Harry remarked to himself as they walked out into the backyard. There, sitting in the cockpit, was the fat man, Palmer.

Harry could heard Palmer grumbling to himself. "Hm...Why do I have to do this...? I'm the head of the Space Program...not some common thief..."

Cloud stepped forward. "We'll be takin' that Tiny Bronco."

Harry sighed. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I've seen you somewhere before," Palmer commented, standing up from his work and looking down at them. He scratched his head. "I know! The Shinra building! When the President was killed! Ulp! Se...se...security!" He pulled out a gun with a small...satelite-dish-like thing on the end of the barrel.

Cloud, Harry, and Red XIII stepped forward, weapons in hand (well...Red didn't need any). Cloud dashed in and slashed at Palmer, but he dodged away with an agility one would not expect a man of his girth would have. Harry ignored the growing roar of the Tiny Bronco as he Stole a bracelet - it was called an Edincoat. Harry jumped back and stowed it away in a pocket while Red snarled and cast Fira. Palmer shook off the effects of the spell after a second, then aimed his gun at Harry and pulled the trigger.

Instead of firing a bullet, Harry found out, Palmer's gun fired one of three spells. Fira, Blizzara, Thundara. Harry felt very cold, then very hot, as the ice encasing his feet shattered upward, scratching his clothes and leaving small, bloodless cuts on his hands and face. He shook his head and touched the Shiva Materia. "You want cold, Palmer?" Harry growled. "I'll give you cold!"

The red orb glowed brightly for a moment, then a cold, visible wind blew through the backyard. The pale-white body of Shiva descended from the air in front of Harry and his comrades, gave Harry a small smile, then blanketed Palmer and a section of the yard around him in snow and ice. Harry saw Palmer's eyes go wide in fear just before Shiva snapped her fingers, causing all the ice to shatter with a loud tinkling sound. The ice and Shiva both disappeared, and the area became warm again as the wind stilled, but Palmer fell to his knees, covered in several places with deep gashes in his arms and legs. Palmer's business jacket was soaked with blood and ripped in several places.

"Nice one, kid," Cloud commented. Then, the Tiny Bronco fired up unexpectedly. It started to move, swinging one of the wings toward Palmer. The fat man ducked his head, avoiding decapitation, then stuck his tongue out at Harry and Cloud before turning and running away - straight into the path of a passing truck. There was a screech of brakes, but the truck still smashed into Palmer's body, sending him flying into the air and out of sight.

Cloud and Harry jumped into the small cockpit of the Tiny Bronco. "It won't stop!" Harry cried over the roar of the engines, attempting to shut the engine down without knowing which button did what.

Cloud shook his head. "Forget it! Get in!" Red, Tifa, and Aeris climbed into the passenger area of the small plane, while Barret and Cait Sith both wrapped themselves around a wing. Cloud grabbed the stick as the Tiny Bronco took off. The plane looped around the rocket before buzzing just overhead of Rufus, Cid, and Rufus' guards, who began to fire at the plane. Cid ran, somehow managing to keep up with the plane, before jumping up and grabbing onto the tail of the plane. A blast from the guards struck the other side of the plane seconds after Cid secured his grasp. "Shit! The tail's been hit!" the old pilot cried.

"Emergency landing..." Cloud said.

Cid straddled the tail section he was sitting on. "This's gonna be a big splash. Hold onto your drawers and don't piss in 'em!"

"Hang on!" Harry shouted as the plane splashed into the water and gradually came to a drifting halt in the ocean water. Once the waves settled and the plane quit rocking back and forth, Cid swung around and examined the damage.

"She won't fly anymore," the pilot said sadly.

"Can't we use it as a boat?" Cloud asked.

"FUCK! Do whatever you want!" Cid growled back.

"Cid...what are you going to do now?" Harry questioned.

"Dunno," Cid shook his head, sitting up. "I'm history with the Shinra, and I've given up on the town."

"How 'bout your wife? How 'bout Shera?" Cloud asked.

Cid shuddered. "Wife? Don't make me laugh! Just thinkin' 'bout marryin' her gives me the chills." He shook his head to clear mental images. "What're you guys gonna do?"

"We're going after a man named Sephiroth," Cloud answered. "We'll have to get Rufus of the Shinra someday, too."

"I don't know about any of that, but..." Cid said, standing up and balancing on the tail. "What the hell!? Sign me up!"

Cloud looked questioningly at everyone. "Well, how 'bout it?"

"No problem," Tifa replied.

"Glad to be aboard, numbskulls!" Cid laughed.

"Numbskulls...?" Cloud frowned.

Cid nodded, still laughing. "Yeah. Anyone stupid enough to go up against Shinra nowadays, has GOTTA be a numbskull! I like it!"

"So...that makes you a numbskull too, doesn't it?" Harry snickered, crossing his arms at the old pilot.

Cid shrugged. "So, where are we headed? Rufus was goin' after Sephiroth towards the Temple of the Ancients."

"Really?" Cloud blinked. "Where is it? That Temple of the Ancients?"

"Dunno," Cid shrugged again. "That numbskull kid was tellin' me he was headin' 'the wrong direction'...so maybe it's off this way?" he pointed towards the southeast.

"Let's just head for land and get some information," Cloud suggested. "Temple of the Ancients...that name bothers me."

"Why?" Aeris asked. Cloud shook his head in silent response, then turned to the controls and powered up the propellers and guided the boat to a beach nearby, a shack looming into view on the cliff above.

* * *

Sirius: So, Mr. Moony, who should we prank this week?

Moony-Er, Remus: Well, Mr. Padfoot...*sips a cup of tea* How about Cor?

Sirius: Hmm...yes, that is a splendid idea, Mr. Moony. What shall we do?

Remus: You seem to forget that you are generally incapable of doing anything after Order of the Pheonix. The one in which you died, remember?

Sirius: Okay, okay...so, what shall we do, Mr. Moony?

Remus: *sigh* Nevermind...


	39. Arena Battling 101

*Cor yawns* It's cold. And snowing.

Harry: And?

It sucks.

Sirius: Quit being a pansy.

*Cor quirks an eyebrow* You're back I see.

Harry: Yeah, Sirius, where were you last chapter?

Sirius: *waves dismissively* Oh, you know, visiting Remus. Nothing Sirius.

*Cor snickers while Harry groans*

* * *

Cloud, Harry, and Tifa all volunteered to hike up the nearby slope and go to the shack. By the time they reached the shack, Tifa and Harry were breathing heavily (Harry moreso than the bartender). Cloud shook his head exasperatedly at them and knocked on the door. A man opened the door. "Huh? Oh, another customer," he greeted them, somewhat in surprise. "You sure picked an out of the way place, but...If it's the 'Keystone' you're looking for, you're too late. Don't have it."

"Keystone?" Harry repeated.

"What? You didn't come here for that?" the salesman questioned. "The 'Keystone' is the key that unlocks the gate to a very old temple somewhere. You're not going to believe your ears, but I heard it was the Temple of the Ancients!"

"The Temple of the Ancients," Cloud mused.

The salesman laughed. "Don't take it seriously. It's just a legend!"

"Where is this 'Keystone'?" Tifa asked.

"I sold it already," the man answered without preamble. "Yeah, well, to tell the truth, I didn't really _want_ to sell it, but...That guy had a way about him that made you feel like it may not be a good idea _not_ to sell it to him."

"Who did you sell it to?" Cloud inquired.

"The manager of the Gold Saucer...think his name was 'Dio.'" the salesman replied. "Said he was going to put it in his museum, then he took off out of here."

"Where is the Temple?" Harry questioned.

"Oh, come on! It's only a legend!" the salesman laughed again. He sighed, "But, if it were true, that sure would be something, huh?" He looked thoughtful. "Now that you mention, I have heard of something called 'Ultimate Destruction magic' that was supposed to be hidden somewhere in the Temple of the Ancients..."

"'Ultimate Destruction Magic...'?" Cloud repeated.

"Come on! I told you not to take it seriously!"

"Let's go to the Saucer, Cloud," Tifa suggested, pulling the boys out the door.

* * *

"I just hope I don't have to race on those bloody birds again," Harry groaned as the cable car pulled into the Gold Saucer station. After calling the entire group on the PHS, Harry, Cloud, and Tifa travelled northwest, skirting the desert, and boarded the car in North Corel. Last he had heard, the others were rounding the mountains and entering the valley, where the ruins of the small coal mining town lay nestled at the end farthest from the desert.

"Actually, Dio prefers to see battles over races," Cloud smirked. "If you have to do anything for us to get the Keystone, it's likely to be in the Battle Square. That's where Dio's showroom is located, anyway."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'if _I_ have to do something'?" Harry cried as they entered the Saucer (Cloud paying for a Lifetime Pass). Cloud's smirk grew while Tifa began to giggle. "If someone has to fight, Cloud, I will make _sure_ that it will be you."

"If you say so, Kid," came the response as the blonde mercenary jumped into the Battle tube. Tifa patted Harry's shoulder sympathetically (the effect was lost, however, as she was still giggling) before jumping in after Cloud.

"I just know I'm going to regret this," Harry muttered, sliding down the tube to be deposited at the entrance to the Battle Square. He jogged to catch up to his comrades and walked behind them as they entered Dio's Showroom, located just off the lobby. On a pedestal in the center lay their objective: The Keystone.

"It's the Keystone," Cloud whispered.

"Thank you, Cloud, for pointing out the obvious," Harry quipped. "You wanna cookie?"

"Just for that kid, _you_ can get the stone," Cloud growled.

"Heh, heh, heh. Long time no see, my boy!" Dio's voice chuckled behind them. They spun around and found the owner striding up to them, in all his swim-trunks-covered glory. "Hmm? You like that, huh?"

Cloud nodded. "Can you let me borrow this?"

Dio chuckled. "Sorry, but it's not for rent." He looked thoughtful. "Hmm...But, you have been good to me in the past. I suppose I _can_ let you have it on one condition."

"One condition?" Harry asked weakly, wary of what that condition might be.

Dio's chuckling grew in volume. "Entertain me, my boy!"

"What do you want?" Cloud asked.

"Hoo boy!" Dio smiled broadly. "Heh, heh, heh. It's not something that's really difficult. This is the Battle Arena. Show me your fighting skills." He turned to Harry. "Just you, my boy. I'm expecting a good fight!"

"But Cloud-" Harry's protest was cut off by the merc in question.

"Oh, just do it, kid. What's the worst that could happen? It's not like it'll be a fight to the death or anything."

"Well, for the monsters, it will be," Dio corrected. At Harry's alarmed expression, Dio laughed and added, "But we'll make sure to get you out if you can't go on."

"That makes me feel _soooo_ much better," Harry muttered darkly.

* * *

Harry gripped Gryffindor's Sword tightly as he stepped into the arena, only to hear hundreds of people cheering him on. Harry scowled. _How did I get roped into this again?_ he thought, before stepping forward into the circle. A shimmer went up around him, signifying that he was now locked inside the arena. Normally, contestants could quit at any time, but Dio had entered Harry under the 'Marathon' Match. Simply put, Harry couldn't quit until he passed out. On the plus side, however, the longer Harry lasted, the bigger the prize he would receive on top of the Keystone.

The crowd drew in a breath as a trio of Razor Weeds materialized. "Is that it?" Harry whispered to himself. _If this is what I'm going to face, this will be easier than getting food from the Hogwarts house elves!_

Harry leapt forward, nimbly evading a small cloud of (probably poisonous) dust or pollen and swinging his sword, slicing through the grass creatures with ease. The three faded away together and Harry stepped back to his spot and waited for the next monster to appear. A wheel appeared before him (and, unbeknownst to Harry, on a massive bigscreen for the crowd). It had various pictures on it, as just Harry was beginning to wonder what it was for, the wheel began to spin. It spun for about five seconds before slowing down and stopping on...the picture of a red 'seven'. "The contestant lucked out! He suffers no handicap for the next round!" an announcer...well, announced.

"Handicap? What?" Harry gasped, but he couldn't say any more as he needed to dodge away from a claw swipe from an Acrophies, an aquatic creature common to the Corel area. Harry reached forward with his Steal Materia, and pulled out a ring with an aquamarine stone set in the band. Harry pocketed it in time to be buffeted by a tidal wave. Harry scowled, shaking his now-soaking wet hair from his face, and dashed forward, cutting into the Acrophies' hide with his blade, drawing green-blue blood. Harry blanched at the color, but recovered quickly enough to duck under a second attempt by the beast to claw him. Harry swung his sword again, sending the offending creature's claw flying across the arena to hit the wall with a very wet 'splat.' Harry, taking advantage of the opening provided as the creature recoiled, finished it off and stepped back.

Once again, the wheel appeared and began to spin. This time around, it settled on a red orb. "Uh-oh! Red Materia has been sealed! The contestant can no longer summon!"

_Hadn't really thought about using Shiva anyway,_ ran through Harry's mind before a giant bull-like creature appeared before him. Harry had enough time to gulp before he was thrown back by the charging bull. He hit the wall and slid down, slightly dazed. He shook his head and blinked to clear the stars before his eyes and stood up again. Scowling, Harry jumped up, over the second charge. The bull's horns became stuck in the wall, leaving it defenseless against Harry's sword. Harry smiled grimly before decimating the beast. "What luck! The Doorbull's horns become impaled in the wall and it can't get free!" the announcer cried. "The contestant receives free reign to slay it!"

"The name's 'Harry!'" Harry bellowed at the announcer, quite aware that it was unlikely that he was heard. As the Doorbull died and disappeared, Harry stepped back to the starting mark as the Handicap Wheel appeared and spun, landing on a picture of an item sack.

"Maybe he's not so lucky after all. His items has been sealed!" the announcer dictated.

_Items? I forgot about those...Oh well._ Harry shrugged. Apparantly, this was a good response, as it impressed upon the crowd the image of Harry being so strong as to not need items to win. Their cheering definitely increased in volume.

A pair of Ice Golems materialized. "Bloody hell!" Harry gasped, jumping back against the wall as the golem on the left flung ice toward him. He didn't have time to take a breath before the second golem launched itself at him, intent on crushing him. Harry rolled out of the way, only to feel an icicle graze his arm. Harry hissed in pain as his sword began glowing orange. "Limit Break!" the announcer cried.

_"Protego!"_ Harry yelled, drawing a line on the floor with the tip of his sword. The ice thrown by the golem that had tried to tackle him, suddenly made an adrupt turn and smacked into the golem's face.

"That Break seems to have cast Protect, Shell, and Reflect all at once!"

_Nice to know..._ Harry thought before running forward with renewed determination. He ducked under a swing of the arm by one of the golems, then leapt up onto the shoulders of the other. He stabbed his sword straight down between the eyes of his ride. He didn't quite kill it, but the damage it suffered brought it to the brink. Harry yanked Gryffindor's Sword out and leapt down behind the golem as its partner tried to tackle him. Instead of nailing Harry with the bodyblow, it crushed its teammate, finishing it off. "Not too bright, are they?" Harry quipped, casting Quake on the remaining golem. The pit that opened sucked the golem down to its waist before closing, leaving it trapped in the floor and immobile. As its arms were raised to throw ice, it wasn't completely defenseless, but it couldn't tackle Harry anymore. He calmly walked behind it, where it couldn't reach him, and attacked. The blade cut through the golem's skin, and after a few swings, the golem's head crashed into the ground and shattered like ice. Harry smirked and walked to his starting spot, listening to the roaring of crowd briefly. He turned and watched the handicap wheel land on a green Materia.

"Looks like the contestant can't use any magic Materia now! He'll have to rely on his physical strength to continue his winning streak!"

* * *

"How's the kid doin', Spike?" a gruff voice asked from behind Cloud's seat. The merc turned and found Cid, Aeris, Red, Barret, and Cait Sith settling into seats around him and Tifa.

"Better than I expected him to," Cloud replied off-handedly. "He's been lucky with the handicaps."

"You really push him down, Cloud," Aeris remarked, frowning.

"He does better when faced with adverisity," the merc shot back. "I don't know why, but he's the kind that doesn't perform spectacular unless he's either backed into a corner or really pissed off."

"Kinda like you, eh, Cloud?" Tifa teased. Cloud scowled.

"We're completely different people," he protested, flushing as his companions all laughed at him.

* * *

The magnade's shield deflected all of Harry's attacks. "I can't hit it because of that shield, and I can't use magic thanks to that damn handicap," Harry panted. He was getting tired, and his arm was slightly numb from the shock when Harry's sword bounced off the monster's shield. He rolled away as the shield flew through the air, aiming to slice his head off. _Wait a minute. If it can only throw its shield as an offence - and I'm pretty sure it is, as that's the only thing it's done offensively ever since it appeared - then it's defenseless while waiting for its shield to return!_ Harry grit his teeth. This was not going to be easy.

Harry ran forward. "He's trying to attack again! Doesn't he realize that the Magnate's shield will just repel him?" Harry ignored the announcer. He slowed down to a walk, and waited. _There!_ Harry leapt forward suddenly, sailing a good half-foot above the shield as it flew through the air. Harry brought his sword down heavily, cutting the Magnate's head in two. Harry was briefly splattered with green blood before the creature faded, taking its spilt blood with it. Harry turned quickly in case he needed to duck the shield, but it, too, disappeared. "What a turnover! The contestant, whom I was just told was called 'Harry,' turned the Magnate's offense against it!"

_Thanks for stating the obvious, genius,_ Harry thought snidely before stepping back to the starting spot. The Handicap Wheel spun for a few seconds, and landed on a picture of a bloke being shrunk. _Uh-oh._ An orange field colored his vision, and when it cleared, _everything_ had grown in size, almost exponentionally. "Harry's been shrunk! Without anyway to reverse the status effect, will Harry still conquer the next round!?" the announcer called out.

_Not bloody likely..._ Harry thought. A Stilva, now seemingly several times it normal size, materialized. "I'm doomed," Harry whimpered. Stilva reared back and released a magic bolt straight at Harry's shrunken form.

* * *

"It's over," Cait Sith remarked, the stuffed moogle he rode covering its eyes. "Hardly anything can stand up to Trine at the best of times!"

As the field cleared, the announcer said, "Well, that's the end of that! Harry, shrunken as a handicap, fell to the devastating power of Stilva's Trine attack." Several grizzley referees stormed into the arena and made extremely quick work of the monster as the arena shimmered once more, the interference shield coming down. A medic came out and cast Full-Life on Harry's tiny, unconscious body, then cast Esuna, restoring him to his normal size.

"Let's go see him," Tifa said.

"Right." The group of seven stood and exited from the stands, going down to the lobby where they found Dio talking to a scowling Harry.

"Pretty good, my boy," Dio boasted. "I haven't been so entertained for quite a long time. Here. You've earned it." Dio placed the Keystone in Harry's hands. He also gave Harry a Ribbon. "Tie this around your wrist. It'll negate any negative status effect you're hit with - including Mini." Dio smirked at the irritated scowl on Harry's face. "Well then, we shall meet again!" Dio left, chuckling.

Harry tried the Ribbon as instructed. It was black with red character sstitched along the center of the band. "You alright, kid?" Cid asked, taking a puff on his cigarette.

"I'm fine. Can we never come here again?" Harry asked. "I didn't want to do any of that in the first place, you know."

"What are you talkin' about?" Barret grumbled. "You did swell, kid!"

"Better than I expected," Cloud nodded in agreement.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "And just what did you expect?"

"I thought you would have gone down in the third round," Cloud shrugged nonchalantly, ignoring the Look of Painful Death that Harry was shooting him. "You made it to the sixth round."

"I'm overwhelmed with your resounding vote of confidence, Spikey," Harry remarked with a lot of venom. Cloud blinked in a slight show of surprise.

"Well, we've got what came here for," Red XIII cut in, heading off a fight between Harry and Cloud. "We can leave."

"Sounds good to me," Barret agreed.

* * *

That went well.

Harry: Remind me to kill you when there aren't any witnesses.

Sirius: Oh, that's right. You don't like being forced into competitions like that, do you?

Harry: Only when it's not Quidditch.


	40. A Cat's Tail Never Lies

Chapter Forty: Midnight Conversations

Well...The only part of my website that's not yet complete is this series of stories. The rest of it is done!

Harry: It is?

Yeah...although the gallery page is open to include other stuff. I might limit it and spread the stuff out over multiple pages when I make enough stuff for it, though.

Sirius: That may not be a bad idea. These...er...'web pages' are like individual scraps of parchment, right?

Something like that.

Sirius: I thought so. No body would want to unroll a massive roll of parchment just to look at stuff, when they can just flip over it to the other side of the table and get to the next one.

*Harry and Cor look at Sirius oddly* Harry: Did Sirius...just make sense?

I think he did.

Sirius: Hey!

*Harry and Cor look at each other and simultaneously flip* Harry and Cor: It's a sign of the Apocalypse! Run for your lives! Take shelter! Hoard food! Hoard medical supplies!

If you're an elderly person, you will NOT make it through this storm.

Sirius: OI!

* * *

Harry, Cloud, and everyone made for the cable car to leave the Gold Saucer. Before they could step onto the car, though, a workman standing in front of the door stopped them. "Excuse me, sirs and madams. I'm sorry. The Tram is out of order right now."

Cloud shrugged. "So?"

Harry sighed. "How thick can you get, Cloud?" he muttered.

"I'm really sorry!" the workman shook his head. He seemed to be panicking. "I'm afraid you won't be able to leave until it's fully repaired."

"Too bad," Cait Sith remarked. "It happens, though. I know! Let's stay at the hotel. They know me here; I'll go talk to them." He bounded off.

The workman looked at them. "I will let you know once the repairs are completed."

"Alright," Harry nodded. "I reckon we'll be at the hotel. Where is it, anyway?"

"It's in the Ghost Square," the workman answered.

* * *

If Harry thought that the Haunted Jail the Dursleys took Dudley and him through (they only brought Harry so that he could be frightened - which he was, but he tried the hardest his six-year-old self could not to show it) was scary, the hotel in the Ghost Square was terrifying. Despite its appearance, though, Harry had seen far too much to be frightened by the objects and costumes the employees wore in the Ghost Hotel. Though, he supposed objectively, they were scary looking.

The group sat around in various places around the lobby. "We don't usually get the chance to be together like this, huh?" Cait Sith asked.

"Not really," Cid agreed. "But we're a big fucking group, so it's no surprise."

"Must you swear every other sentence, Cid?" Aeris chided the old pilot, glancing pointedly at Harry and Red XIII, ignoring their indignant protests. Cid chuckled at her.

"So Cloud. How 'bout it?" Cait asked. "Can you tell us what's happened so far? I don't really know what's gon' on because I wasn't here in the beginning."

Cid looked up. "Yeah! I'm all for it!"

"I been here since the beginnin', an' I still don't know what the hell's goin' on either," Barret agreed, causing a few laughs. "Cloud, the hell's goin' on? C'mon, tell us!"

Cloud sighed. "Phew...All right, I'll give it a shot." He stood up and paced back and forth thoughtfully. "We are...going after Sephiroth. Sephiroth must be in search of the Promised Land."

"The Promised Land?" Cid asked.

"A land full of Mako energy," Cloud explained, "or, at least, that's what the Shinra believe. I don't know if it actually exists."

"The Cetras return to the Promised Land," Aeris supplied. "A land that promises boundless happiness."

"Cetra? That some kinda disease?" Barret questioned.

Aeris reached up and cuffed on the back of the head. "That's what the Ancients call themselves. Didn't you listen to the elders at Cosmo Canyon? You don't 'know' where the Promised Land of the Ancients is. You search and travel, until you feel it. Like you just know, "...this is the Promised land.""

Harry tilted his head thoughtfully. "That makes it sound like it could be different for everyone."

Cloud turned to the flower girl. "Aeris...can you feel it too?"

"I think so," she nodded.

"So Sephiroth is travelling the world because he's searching for the Promised Land? Is that it?" Tifa asked.

"That, and one other thing he's searching for," Aeris confirmed.

"The Black Materia," Cloud said.

"I heard from Dio that a man in a Black Cape was lookin' for the Black Materia," Cait Sith offered.

"I don't even know what the Black Cape is," Harry added. "How many blokes with Black Capes and number tattoos are there?"

"You know, of course...my tattoo is number thirteen," Red informed.

"How did you get that tattoo?" Cloud asked.

"Hojo put it on me," Nanaki answered. "Everything else is just war scars, but the number was done by Hojo."

"So, there are at least thirteen!?" Tifa gasped.

"At least we won't have to fight them," Harry chuckled darkly. "They're all catatonic."

Aeris nodded. "I think Hojo did something to those men in the Black Capes. But I don't know what it has to do with Sephiroth though...That's why I think we should just go after Sephiroth himself."

"Yeah, me too!" Barret agreed. "It's all just too damn confusin'."

"And..." Aeris added, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, forget it! I think I'm tired. I'm going to bed now." She ran upstairs.

"What was that, all of a sudden!?" Cait Sith asked. He shrugged and turned to Cloud. "Is that all? How 'bout the Black Materia?"

"You wouldn't understand, even if I told you," Cloud scowled.

"Try me," Harry crossed his arms.

"Now all we gotta do is take action!" Barret declared. "We're startin' tomorrow!" He ran up the stairs to bed as well.

"Cloud..." Nanaki called softly. "I'm number thirteen. Am I...am I going to go mad, too?"

Tifa knelt down by him. "I don't know what Hojo did to you, but you've been all right so far, right?"

"But..." Red looked down.

"Be strong," Tifa encouraged him.

"But, I..."

Tifa cut him off. "Stop it, Red XIII! Be strong!"

Nanaki looked taken aback for a moment, before he nodded and padded up the stairs to his room.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked.

"You're not the only one who's worried," the former bartender remarked.

"I don't know what's goin' on, but we're in a bad situation..." Cait Sith added.

* * *

Harry rolled over on his bed and opened his eyes. He sighed. "Bugger," he grunted. "Why did I wake up?" He slipped out of the bed, slipped his trainers on and grabbed Gryffindor's Sword. He made his way out into the lobby just in time to see Cait Sith sneak out. "What are you up to, you stuffed cat?" Harry whispered to himself under his breath. He stealthily followed the animated moogle/cat thing out to the graveyard-esque tube station. He watched at Cait Sith jumped into the tube heading toward the Cable Car station. Harry waited a few seconds, then jumped in after him.

When he was deposited in the station, he rolled upon landing to avoid making noise. He nearly bowled over into Cloud and Aeris. "Harry? What are you doing here and what's Cait Sith doing?" the blonde mercenary whispered.

Harry shrugged. "I woke up and saw him sneak out, so I followed him."

Cait Sith held up a green stone. "Hey...is that that...Keystone?" Aeris gasped.

"Hey! Cait Sith!" Cloud cried, charging after him as the animated moogle/cat bounded off. Harry quickly gave chase, with Aeris bringing up the rear. The trio first followed the stuffed cat through the battle square, then found him trying to disguise himself in the wonder square. He bounded away again, and ducked into the chocobo square. Cloud, Harry, and Aeris chased him up the stairs into the lobby, where Cait Sith was behind the circular desk. Harry shot a quick look at Cloud and motioned his intention to go left. Cloud nodded and went right. The three surrounded the animated moogle behind the deserted counter, but Cait surprised him by leaping clean over the counter and ran back outside, where the sound of spinning helicopter blades could just barely be heard. Swearing under their breaths, the three ran outside in time to see Cait Sith hurl the Keystone up to the helicopter, where Tseng, standing on the runners, caught it.

"Well done," the Turk said, right before the helicopter flew off.

"Hey!" Cloud roared in fury, grabbed the stuffed cat off the moogle's back and pinning him against the wall with a single hand. Harry pulled out Gryffindor's Sword and left the point pricking into the skin on Cait Sith's neck.

"W, wait a second! I won't run or hide!" he cried. "Yes, I was a spy. I was hired by the Shinra."

"Thanks for pointing out the bloody obvious, traitor," Harry snarled.

"I trusted you," Aeris agreed. "I can't believe you!"

"I couldn't help it. How 'bout if we continue like nothing ever happened?" Cait Sith suggested.

"No way, cat!" Cloud roared. "You gotta lot of guts, acting like a friend but being a spy!"

"Then what are you goin' to do? Kill me?" Cait Sith mocked. "You'd just be wastin' your time if you tried. This body's just a toy anyway. My real body's at Shinra Headquarters in Midgar. I'm controllin' this toy cat from there."

"Just because we can't kill you, doesn't mean we can't make your life a living hell," Harry threatened.

"So you're from the Shinra? Who? Who are you! Tell me!" Aeris demanded.

"Whoa, I can't tell you my name!" the animated cat protested. Harry dug the tip of his blade in a little deeper. "Stop!"

"We're not gettin' anywhere," Cloud sighed angrily.

Cait Sith nodded, as much as he could without accidentally impaling his neck on Harry's sword, anyway. "See? I told you! Talking won't do any good, so can't we just continue our journey?"

"You think I'm kidding?" Harry asked, scowling. To make his point, he pushed just a _just_ a little harder.

Cait gasped for air. "...Alright, yes, I am a Shinra employee. But...we're not entirely enemies. Something bothers me. I think it's your way of life. You don't get paid. You don't get praised. Yet, you still risk your lives and continue on your journey. Seeing that makes me..." he paused, both to think and to grab another lungful of air. "It just makes me think about my life. I don't think I'd feel too good if things ended the way they are now."

"But you're not alive!" Harry cried. "You're just a bloody toy cat!"

"He'll never tell the truth," Cloud grunted. "Once a spy, always a spy. We can't go on with someone like that. C'mon, get real!"

Cait Sith sighed. "...Just as I thought. Talking won't make a bit of difference. But, I prepared something in case this happened. Why don't you listen to his?" The stationary moogle Cait rode on lifted its hand. In its grasp was a small radio. A tiny voice came in over the speaker.

"Papa! Tifa!" Marlene's voice cried. Then the radio went silent as the moogle turned it off.

"Hey! That's Marlene!" Aeris gasped.

"So, you have to do as I say," Cait Sith remarked. He turned his eyes toward Harry. "And could you please pull back on that shiny sword? I can barely breathe, here! It's a mite uncomfortable."

"You're the lowest..." Harry growled, putting away his sword as Cloud let the cat down.

"I didn't want to do this...using dirty tricks and taking hostages," Cait Sith explained as he climbed back up on the moogle's back. "But, this is how it is...no compromises. So why don't we continue on as we did?"

"You do realize that Barret will hunt down your real body and pulverize you, right?" Harry asked. "When he finds out about Marlene, I mean."

Cait Sith shook his head. "Tomorrow is the Temple of the Ancients, right? I know where it is, so I'll tell you later. Of course, we'll get there after the Shinra, but you'll have to deal with that." He bounded off toward the Ghost Square.

"Well...we're stuck. We'll have to do what he says," Cloud growled.

"I wonder if Marlene is all right...I wonder what happened to Mom," Aeris said softly.

"Most likely...she's kept near Marlene, but probably not in the same room," Harry reasoned. "At least, it didn't sound like she was there in with Marlene on that radio, but that could have just been for effect."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," Cloud remarked. "Let's just get back to the hotel and catch what sleep we can. We'll be having a big day tomorrow at the Temple."

* * *

The next morning, Cloud was the last to come down into the lobby. "What took you so long, Cloud?" Cait Sith asked.

"Shut yer mouth, traitor!" Barret growled, pointing his gun-arm at the stuffed cat. Ever since Cloud and Harry told him about Marlene, the large man had been itching to, very literally, pump the moogle full of lead by way of his gun-arm.

Cait Sith ignored him. "Oh yeah, about the Temple of the Ancients. I think if we take the Tiny Bronco east, towards the sea, we should be able to find it."

"'You think'?" Harry repeated. He had, reluctantly, helped to stop Barret from rampaging on the cat last night.

Cait ignored him, too. "Well then, shall we get goin'? Who's gonna go?"

Aeris raised her hand. "I want to go! I'm going for sure!"

"All right," Cloud nodded. "Then it'll be me, Aeris, Kid, and Tifa."

Cait Sith nodded. "Then, see you later."

"How 'bout never?" Harry grumbled as they left the hotel.

* * *

Phew.

Sirius: I'm gonna kill me a stuffed cat. And every time it comes back, I'll kill him in a different way.

Harry: Get Remus and the Weasley twins. Between the four of us, I'm sure we can think of hundreds of ways to torture the blighter.

Cloud: Count me in. *fingers his Buster Sword*

*Barret enters, skin painted green and wearing purple shorts* Barret: Barret! Smash!

*Cor blanches* That's...actually a pretty decent impression of the Hulk.


	41. Temple of the Ancients, Part One

Harry: You're actually writing more than one chapter this time?

Hey! It's either work on this (and thus, my project) or get yelled at by my instructor.

Sirius: Oh, just prank her with something.

Oh yeah. Right. I'll just run out, grab some prank stuff, come back, and unleash the mayhem on her. And then, I'll pack my stuff up and leave.

Sirius: See? Simple.

Harry: Sirius, he was being sarcastic.

* * *

After a boring hour at sea, Cloud, Harry, Tifa, and Aeris found an island with a building in the distance that peeked at them over a forest. Once they disembarked from the plane, those who weren't going made a base camp near the plane. "We'll leave the PHS on in case you need us," Nanaki called out to them as the four left. The hike to the temple (even a quarter of the way there from the beach, Aeris could feel that it was indeed their destination) was only a little more eventful than the plane-turned-boat ride to the little island. They encountered a differently colored, and much stronger, version of the scorpion beasts Cloud, Tifa, and Harry had encountered in the railway system directly underneath the Midgar plate. They, too, were much stronger, however, and made quick work of them. Orange energy flickered around Harry's sword, and he realized that he was close to activating a Limit Break.

'Course, when he saw Tifa use Dolphin Blow, a powerful uppercut that knocked the target up into the air and caused dolphin-shaped globules of water to slam them back into the ground, Harry whistled appreciatively. "Remind me never to make her mad," he had told Cloud.

Cloud had shuddered and nodded. "Only if you do the same for me." Harry had, naturally, agreed.

Aeris had chuckled. "Boys..."

They reached the entrance to the Temple shortly before noon. Aeris stood on the rope bridge and knelt down. "This is...the Temple of the Ancients..." she whispered. Harry could barely hear her. "I...I know...I feel it...the knowledge of the Ancients...floating...You could become with the Planet, but you're stopping it with the strength of will. For the future? For us?"

Cloud knelt behind her. "What are you saying? Do you understand?" he asked her.

They stood up. Aeris ran closer, stopping at the base of the stairs leading up to the door. "You're uneasy...but happy?" She looked around, apparently not spotting what she sought. "Because I'm here? I'm sorry...I don't understand!" She turned back to Cloud, Harry, and Tifa. "I want to go inside!"

Harry crosses his arms thoughtfully. "I thought that's what we came here for?" he asked mockingly. Tifa swatted the back of his head.

The four found a man in a Black Cape standing at the top of the Temple. "Black...Materia..." he whispered, falling back down.

"Look," Aeris commanded.

Tifa checked him. "Number Nine. Another man with a tattoo."

A white glow bathes the area and the body turned translucent before floating skyward. It faded from sight. After staring at the spot where it disappeared for a second, the group headed inside, finding Tseng slumped against an alter. The Turk clutched his torso, and the blood, while slowed by the pressure, was still coming out with a steady stream. "Hey! It's Tseng!" Aeris cried.

"Tseng? Of the Turks?" Cloud asked as the man pulled himself to his feet on the alter behind him.

"Uh...I've been had." He slumped back down. "It's not the Promised Land...Sephiroth's searching for..."

"Sephiroth!?" Cloud repeated. "He's inside!?"

Tseng weakly waved his free hand toward the altar. "Look...for yourself." He let his hand fall. "Damn...Letting Aeris go...was the start of my...bad luck...The President...was...wrong..."

Aeris stepped forward, hands on her hips and in full scolding mode. "You're wrong. The Promised Land isn't like what you imagined." Harry was briefly reminded of Molly Weasley. The flower girl channeling Mrs. Weasley's spirit turned away. "And, I'm not going to help. Either way, there was no way Shinra could have won."

Tseng chuckled darkly. "...Pretty harsh. Sounds like...something...you'd say." He staggered to his feet again and handed Cloud the Keystone. "The Keystone...Place it...on...the altar..." He nodded, then stumbled over to a corner where he slumped down.

Cloud turned to Aeris, then turned his back to hers. "You crying?"

Aeris shook her head and turned back around. "Tseng's with our enemy, the Turks, but I've known him since we were little...There's not a lot of people I can say that about. In fact, there are probably only a handful of people in the world who really know me."

"Let's put the Keystone in," Cloud suggested. The four stood before the alter and Cloud placed the Keystone into a recess on the altar. The stone glowed a bright blue before wrapping the four into a white light. When the light faded, they found themselves at the beginning of a very complex maze. Harry began to get a headache just by looking at it from their vantage point above the entire thing.

"Words...feelings...So many of them here," Aeris whispered.

"What a strange place," Tifa agreed. "Do you think we're welcome here?"

"I certainly hope so," Harry nodded. "It's not like we're here to gain things for ourselves, after all."

Aeris uncharacteristically gripped Cloud by his shirt. "Cloud! I know it's going to be tough, but...Don't give up! We can do it!"

"Lead the way, fearless leader," Harry chuckled, waving Cloud forward.

"Hmph!" They followed the blonde mercenary as he navigated the maze. He seemed confident in his sense of direction, as he only hesitated to look down each path everytime they came to a fork. Part way through, they ran into a human-like creature that, upon seeing them, ran away. They gave chase, following it up a wall of vines that they climbed and through a door into a small closet-like room.

"Phew!" Aeris panted. "We finally caught up to you." She paused, and shook her head. "I'm sorry. You waited for me." She turned to Cloud, Harry, and Tifa. "Those are the spirit bodies of the Ancients. They've been away from their Planet for a long time to protect this Temple. Over the many years, they've lost the ability to talk. Actually...they didn't need words from the beginning because there was only one objective for those left in the temple." She turned to the spirit body and stepped over to it. "Please, talk to me!"

"I thought you said they lost the ability to speak?" Harry joked. He was rewarded with a swat on the head, courtesy of, once again, Tifa.

Aeris shook her head. "No good. I don't understand the rest. Are you afraid...? Is it because Sephiroth is in the Temple? Or something else?"

They rested for a bit, before leaving the room and resuming the trek through the maze. Near the end (or so Cloud said) they encountered another one of the spirit bodies of the Cetra. This one ran away, too, down a long hallway. As it slipped through a door at the other end, a series of hollow columns with gaps just large enough for a person to squeeze through unharmed began rolling down the hallway with a steady, unrelenting frequency.

"Bloody hell..." Harry muttered. "Those boulders fill the entire corridor!"

"We'll have to duck into those gaps," Cloud reasoned. The next one passed; as they were still in the doorway, the columns couldn't reach them, though they were close enough to feel the wind off them. "Right, let's go!"

Harry's nerves were frazzled by the close calls they had, ducking into the gaps. As each boulder came, they stopped and crouched down, squeezing into the gap in the column. As it rolled over their heads, they dashed forward and stopped, crouched down, squeezing into the gap in the next column. They repeated this until they reached the end of the corridor, where a flash of light signaled the halt of the rolling columns of death. "Phew...we did it!" Aeris panted.

"Yes," Harry agreed. "That was fun. Let's never, ever do that again."

"I second that," Tifa nodded.

"Everyone all right?" Cloud asked. "That sure took a lot out of us."

"Oh, we're only trying to recover from seeing our lives flash before eyes several times over," Harry remarked chalantly. "Nothing serious, you know."

"Oh, shut it, you."

A flash of light made Aeris jump. She turned around and ran halfway back down the corridor, turning into an alcove they had ducked into once for an easy escape to catch their breaths. She turned to look back at them. "Oh no...Cloud. Come quick!"

"Why doesn't she ever call the rest of us?" Harry groused good-naturedly under his breath. "One would reckon she's crushing on our resident spiky-headed merc." Tifa giggled at him.

The three found Aeris kneeling at a small pool of...something that shined brightly in the dark room. "It's full of the knowledge of the Ancients," she explained when they reached her side. "No...not knowledge...consciousness...a living soul..." She looked up. "It's trying to say something." She tucked her long brown hair back and put her ear several inches above the surface of the pool's contents. "I'm sorry, I don't understand...What? What is it?" She stood up. "Danger...? An evil...consciousness? Show? You're going to show me?"

There was a flash of white. Harry, Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris found themselves looking around in a long room, with the walls on either side covered in murals. Harry instantly knew they were deep inside the Temple. When he looked at himself and his companions, Harry saw them as transparent. "What's going on?" Cloud asked.

Aeris turned to him. "Wait! Look! It's showing us!"

_Is this...something like a Penseive?_ Harry thought.

Tseng, who didn't look transparent, was studying the murals. A solid-looking Elena came running in. "Tseng, what's this? Can we find the Promised Land with this?"

"I wonder..." Tseng murmured. He turned to Elena. "Anyway, we have to report to the President."

Elena nodded. "Be careful, Tseng."

Tseng nodded in return. "Yeah...Hey, Elena. How 'bout dinner after this job's over?"

Elena looked both shocked and pleased. "Th...Thank you very much. If I may be excused...?" She ran off, blushing.

Tseng looked down for a moment, but turned and looked back at the wall. "Is this the Promised Land? No, it can't be..."

There was another flash of light. Sephiroth walked past, seemingly right through Cloud and Harry. He knelt, his long sword straight up and his body glowing white. Tseng turned and spotted him. "Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth stood up. "So, you opened the door," he remarked casually, his low tenor voice dark and melancholy. "Well done."

Tseng took a step toward the white-haired man. "This place...what is it?"

"A lost treasure house of knowledge," Sephiroth answered. "The wisdom of the Ancients..." He raised his arms. "I am becoming one with the Planet."

"One with the Planet?" Tseng repeated.

A flash of light. A second Sephiroth, looking identical to the first, formed, arms also raised. The first Sephiroth lowered his arms and turned away. "You stupid fools," he declared, his voice echoing as though he said each syllable twice in succession before moving on to the next. "You have never even thought about it. All the spirit energy of this Planet. All its wisdom...its knowledge...I will meld with it all. I will become one with it...It will become one with me."

"You can do that!?" Tseng gasped.

"The way...lies here," the second Sephiroth spoke cryptically, its voice also echoing slightly. It began to laugh, the echo turning it into something haunting. "Only death awaits you all. But do not fear."

The first Sephiroth drew his sword and rushed at Tseng. With the sound of sliding metal, Tseng falls to the ground and the white haze over everything in Harry's eyes turned red. "For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of me."

The second Sephiroth rocketted skyward, leaving behind the first Sephiroth kneeling over Tseng's body. There was a flash of light, and Harry was once again looking at the glowing pool.

"Did you see it?" Aeris asked.

"...I saw it," Tifa nodded.

"As did I," Harry agreed.

"Where is the room with the pitcures on the walls?" Cloud inquired.

Aeris looked thoughtful for a minute. "...Almost there..."

Cloud stepped away. "Sephiroth is here, right? No matter what he thinks, it's going to end here. I'm taking him out!" he declared.

"We're here too, you know," Tifa swatted his arm. The four continued on, going through the door that spirit body slipped through earlier. Not a single one of them noticed an transparent image of Sephiroth descend into the glowing pool, shooting out a second later. Neither did they realize that the pool stopped glowing.

* * *

That seems like a good place to stop for now.

Sirius: Aw! But I wanna see what happens next!

Remus: *blinks* You mean to say you're actually interested in the story?

Sirius: Of course I am! Harry's starring in it, isn't he?

How did you get here Remus?

Remus: *grin* Marauder's Secret, Cor.


	42. Temple of the Ancients, Part Two

And now for the conclusion of the Temple of the Ancients!

Siris:*rubs hands together gleefully* Alright!

Remus:*sighs exasperatedly*

Harry: Oh, it's not that bad, Moony.

* * *

Cloud, Harry, Tifa, and Aeris continued through the Temple. Sooner than they expected, they encountered a circular room with twelve doors, each positioned at an hour on a clock. In the center was a small, rotating platform, and an hour and a minute hand both slowly moved around the room. A second hand was, of course, going much faster. Aside from the areas where the hands covered, the only flooring was within the archways of each and every door.

A small face arose from the center column and turned to face them. "I am the Time Guardian. Ye who seek the knowledge of the Ancients, I control the time. Select your path." With that foreboding message, the face sank back down to whence it came.

Harry turned to Aeris. "Well, Ms. Cetra. What do you suppose we do?" he asked, smiling.

Aeris looked thoughtful. "Let's go at six o' clock," she said.

"Granted," the voice from the clock face announced suddenly. The minute hand spun around the room so fast that they felt the wind from it hitting their faces. It stopped, pointing directly at them (thus serving as a bridge to the center) while the hour hand ground to a halt at the six o' clock door.

Harry frowned. "That was too easy," he remarked.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, kid," Cloud grunted, stepping toward the platform. He had to hop the second hand, though, to avoid being knocked off into the pit below. Harry went next, followed by Aeris, and then Tifa.

They emerged into a room that resembled the side of a cliff with several ledges below them. Each of the ledges below had four openings; the one they stood upon had two, plus a large, double door in the center. An Ancient's spirit body saw them and hurriedly locked the double doors. It then bounded away into the opening on the other side. "After it!" Cloud cried, giving chase. Harry followed along; Tifa and Aeris silently agreed to sit on the steps and wait for the boys to obtain the key.

Cloud went into the opening and came out on the third (and lowest) ledge, second door from the left (when facing the cliff face). Harry poked his head out on the ledge directly below the girls, in the rightmost cavern. "Huh?"

The spirit body made a laughing sound at them from the ledge in between before ducking back into the cavern it popped out of. Harry growled and entered the cavern next to it, coming out of the entrance the Ancient just entered. Cloud had entered the leftmost opening on his level and reappeared next to Harry. Their quarry laughed at them again, from the ledge above on the leftmost side.

"This will get us nowhere," Cloud growled.

"There has to be some sort of logic to this," Harry agreed. He wiped his brow. "If Hermione was here, I'm sure she could figure it out; she's brilliant at deducing things of this nature."

"Herm-my-who?" Cloud asked.

"One of my best friends back home," Harry explained quickly. He re-entered the opening he came out of as the Ancient slipped into the cavern next to his exit. Cloud shrugged, and re-entered his as well.

Harry emerged back up top with the girls. Cloud emerged on the bottom ledge again, this time on the far right side. The Ancient laughed from the second from the left on the first ledge underneath Harry. "Tired, Harry?" Aeris giggled.

Harry scowled at them. "You know, a little help would be appreciated," he grunted.

"Aww," Tifa teased, "but us girls like seeing our men hot and sweaty."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Cloud snapped, tugging the Ancient along behind by the arm as he came out behind Harry. The Ancient docilely unlocked the door for them and stepped aside.

"Good work, Cloud!" Tifa congratulated him. The merc grunted before leading the way inside.

"This is the room with the murals," Aeris breathed softly.

Cloud swung his arm determinedly. "Where are you!? Sephiroth!"

They saw a flash of light down the corridor. They ran towards it and found Sephiroth kneeling at the base of the a picture of a massive comet heading for a smaller planet. Sephiroth stood up, but appeared...doubled, as though two Sephiroth's were occupying the same space. Harry knew extremely little about physics, but even he knew he was witnessing a physical impossibility.

"So...cold. I am always...by your side...Come..." the white-haired man (men?) whispered, before rocketing skiward again. They quartet moved forward, and found Sephiroth admiring another one of the murals, arms crossed. "Splendid." He turned towards Cloud, limping _very_ slightly. "A treasure house of knowledge..."

"I don't understand what you're saying!" Cloud interrupted.

Sephiroth began to laugh. He disappeared in a flash of light. They found a trembling Sephiroth closer to the end of the corridor, looking at yet another mural of a huge round object on a collision course with a smaller, earth-like object. "Look well," Sephiroth ordered.

"At what?" Harry asked, hand on Gryffindor's Sword.

"At that which adds to the knowledge of..." Sephiroth began, but trailed off as he raised his arms. "I am becoming one with the Planet." He lowered his arms and laughed again. He shot skyward with yet another flash of light. At the end of the corridor, they found Sephiroth recling on the floor, leaned back against a small altar with a floating hologram of the Temple of the Ancients. "Mother...it's almost time...soon...we will become one," Sephiroth whispered, standing up slowly.

"How do you intend to become one with the Planet?" Aeris asked, hands on her hips.

"It's simple," Sephiroth replied. Harry almost fell over; a villian actually _explaining_ his diabolical plan to the heroes? It was unheard of!

"Once the Planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the injury," the white-haired man explained, chuckling as he slashed the air with his sword. "The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury." He impaled his sword into the floor. "What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet? Think how much energy would be gathered!" He pulled his sword out of the floor and began to flash as he laughed. "And at the center of that injury, will be me. All that boundless energy will be mine!" He slashed the air again. "By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the Planet...I will cease to exist as I am now. Only to be reborn...as a 'God' to rule over every soul."

"An injury powerful enough to destroy the Planet? Injure...the Planet?" Harry gasped, eyes wide.

Sephiroth began flashing faster. "Behold that mural. The Ultimate Destructive Magic...Meteor."

"That'll never happen!" Cloud bellowed, pulling his Buster Sword out in front of him.

There was a flash of light as Sephiroth flew forward, rushing past Cloud. "Wake up!"

Cloud looked aroung angrily. "Where are you! Sephiroth!" He ran off, back down the corridor.

"Wait! Cloud!" Tifa called. She, Aeris, and Harry ran after him.

They found him before the mural of Meteor, his body flashing much like Sephiroth had. "Cloud!" Aeris called. The flashing mercenary turned his head slightly toward them, then looked back at the mural.

"Hey, Cloud!" Harry beckoned. Cloud looked at them once more, then back to the mural. He repeats the motion a few times, before begining to laugh in a very creepy way.

"Ha ha ha...Black Materia...Ha ha ha...Call Meteor..."

"Cloud! Get a hold of yourself!" Aeris demanded.

Cloud clutched his head, suddenly. The flash of light surrounding Cloud's body pulled away, revealing itself as a transparent double of Cloud. It disappeared briefly, long enough for Cloud to say, "Cloud...I'm...Cloud..." The merc shook his head when the double reappeared next to him. "How should I...?" He began to move his limbs almost randomly, assuming different poses. The double mimicked him. After Cloud stopped posing, the double seemed to disappear into Cloud."I remember!" he declared. "I remember my way."

"Cloud..." Aeris called.

Cloud shrugged. "Mm? What's wrong? Is something wrong?"

Aeris shook her head. "It's nothing, so don't worry about it." She nodded toward Tifa and Harry. "Right, Cloud! It's nothing!" she added, a little too enthusiastically.

"Sephiroth got away," Harry supplied, relaxing his grip on the hilt of his sword.

Cloud shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it. I understood what he was saying." He waved up at the mural. "So, this must be Meteor, right?"

Aeris nodded. "Is something going to fall from the sky?" Tifa asked.

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Harry joked. He didn't duck in time to avoid being slapped in the back of the head by both Aeris and Tifa.

"...This must be magic," Aeris remarked. "Just what Sephiroth was saying...The Ultimate Destructive Magic, Meteor. It finds small drifting planets with its magic..." She turned to Cloud. "And then collides with them. This Planet might get wiped out entirely..."

Suddenly, the room went dark and began to shake. The quartet tried to keep their footing. "Sephiroth!?" Cloud bellowed.

Sephiroth's voice echoed from around them. "Ha ha ha...It is not me."

The lights went back up. Harry found they now faced a red-colored dragon; it looked a little like the Chinese Fireball from his Care of Magical Creatures textbook. Harry pulled out Gryffindor's Sword in time to block the fore-talons from slicing him into pieces, though he fell to his knees from the force of the blow. Cloud leapt forward and slashed with the Buster Sword, leaving a large gash in the dragon's belly. Aeris pulled back and cast Shell and Protect on the party, reducing the potential damage they might take. Tifa ran forward and leapt over a short blast of fire, kicking the dragon in the muzzle several times before coming back to the ground. The stream of fire faded from existence before the tongues reached the wall. Harry dashed in and left a large cut on the dragon's foreleg, and received a pelting from the other forepaw in return. It was just what he needed, however, to reach his Limit Break.

"On three, Harry," Tifa smiled, glowing orange alongside him. "One...two..."

"Wait!" Harry cried. "Do we actually go _on_ three, or is it one-two-three and _then_ go?"

Tifa laughed. "Just do it!"

"Right," Harry said sheepishly. Aeris, Cloud, and the dragon all shook their heads at them.

"Eye of the Dolphin!" they cried. Tifa smacked the dragon's maw upwards with the uppercut of her Dolphin Blow. Dolphin-shaped Conjunctivitus Curses rained into the beast's face. The drake howled in pain and fury, but could no longer see them. While Harry and Tifa exchanged high-fives, Cloud finished off the dragon via decapitation.

"'Eye of the Dolphin'?" Aeris repeated, giggling.

"What?" Harry asked snappishly.

"Somes like the name of some kinda wierd matrial arts style," Cloud groused.

"And what would you know about martial arts, Mr. SOLDIER?" Tifa shot back mocklingly, hands on her hips. Cloud paled and backed off, hands up in a 'peace' gesture.

Harry caught Aeris' eye. 'Whipped,' he mouthed, making a back-and-forth motion with his hand. The flower-girl giggled and nodded in agreement.

"Any sign of Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"He disappeared," Aeris answered.

The quartet stepped up to the altar and inspected the floating hologram more closely. "What is this?" Harry asked. "There's something written on it...B...l...a...c...k...M...a...t...e...r...i...a..."

"Black Materia!" Cloud gasped.

"Hey! Black Matera...What should we do, Cloud?" Aeris inquired.

Cloud tapped the hologram. It shook for a moment, causing the whole room to shake as well. He shrugged. "Wait a minute. I'll ask!" Aeris volunteered.

Harry immediately squashed the thought, _Couldn't you have just done that anyway?_

Aeris shook her head. "I don't understand...What? Really!?" She turned back to them. "They said that the Temple itself is the Black Materia."

"What do they mean?" Cloud asked.

"So, this whole building is the Black Matera?" Harry confirmed.

"This huge Temple? This is the Black Materia!? Then no one could take it," Cloud remarked.

Aeris shook her head. "Hmm, it's pretty hard. You see, this," she pointed at the hologram," is a model of the Temple. And inside it is a device, which gets smaller each time you solve a puzzle. As the model becomes smaller, you become smaller too. Until it's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand."

"So, if we solve the puzzles, the Black Materia will get smaller and smaller and we can take it out?" Harry clarified.

"Yes, but there's one thing..." Aeris shook her head. "You can only answer the puzzles inside the Temple - this room. So, anyone who solves the puzzle will be crushed by the Temple."

"I see...the Ancients didn't want dangerous magic to be taken out of the Temple so easily..." Cloud reasoned.

"Let's just leave it, OK?" Tifa asked.

"No," Cloud shook his head. "We've got to think of a way to get it out. Because Sephiroth has lots of different flunkies. It's nothing to him to throw their lives away to get the Black Materia." He tapped the model once more, and received another tremor. "This place isn't safe."

"So what are we going to do?" Aeris asked.

"Cait Sith," Harry remarked.

"What? That traitorous cat?" Cloud growled.

Harry nodded. "It's not like being crushed would kill him, anyway. Didn't you hear what he said back in the Gold Saucer? 'This body's just a toy; my real body's back at Shinra Headquarters.' We bring Cait Sith here, leave, and let him solve the puzzles until we get the Materia."

Cloud looked thoughtful. "Actually, that's not a bad idea. We just have to make sure to get the Materia out and leave before the Shinra or Sephiroth gets it.

"Works for me!" Tifa agreed.

Cloud's PHS rang; he pulled it out and flipped it open to answer. "Hi, Cloud. This is Cait Sith. I overheard the whole story!"

"Wonder how he did that?" Harry mused aloud.

"Don't forget about me. Everything you said makes perfect sense! You can use my stuffed body for the future of the Planet," the cat's voice came in.

"We can't let Sephiroth get his hands on the Black Materia. And we can't let the Shinra get theirs on it, either," Cloud replied.

"But Cloud," Cait pleaded. "There's really nothing else you can do. Do you really want to send someone to their death for this? Please, just trust me."

"Like I said before," Harry agreed, "it's not like Cait Sith is gonna die from this. If he's really just a toy, then there's likely to be a back-up or secondary Cait Sith that activates when the first stops functioning."

"All righty then! Leave it all to me!" Cait Sith remarked enthusiastically. "Please hurry, you've got to get our of there! I'll be waiting at the exit!" The line went dead as the cat and Cloud both hung up.

"All right, you heard the cat: Let's get the hell outta here," Cloud urged. They ran.

* * *

The clock hands in the clock room didn't activate; not even the second hand was moving. Fortunately for them, the hour hand was still stuck at their feet; the minute hand reached straight across to the door at twelve o' clock. They dashed across and entered a room with a large double door with the design of a demon face carved into it. "It's warm in here," Cloud remarked, just before the room started to shake. "This isn't good," he added.

"No shit, Sherlock?" Harry snipped, pulling Gryffindor's Sword.

"Language, Harry!" Tifa and Aeris both scolded him, smacking the back of his head from behind.

"Ow! What was that for?" the Boy-Who-Defeated-Voldemort-Only-To-Get-Sucked-Into-A-Video-Game cried.

The four jumped back as the demon relief on the wall...burst from the wall. "Bloody hell," Harry whispered. Cloud nodded in grim agreement as he pulled his Buster Sword out.

The quartet scattered and dived away in time to avoid being crushed by falling stones of white rock. Cloud rushed forward and slammed his sword into the Demon's Gate, but only pushed it back a little and left a dent. Harry cast Quake, but the Gate was unaffected by the Earth magic. Tifa tried casting Thunder, but it, too, was no good. Aeris ducked underneath the Gate's arm and smacked it across the nose with her staff, which only irritated the devil. The Gate countered by rushing forward suddenly, throwing the flower-girl through the air and crashing into Harry and Cloud. "Nice of you to drop in, Aeris," Harry quipped as he pulled himself free from the impromptu dogpile he found himself on the bottom of. He pulled Aeris to her feet.

"Next time you want to cuddle on my chest, Aeris, all you have to do is ask," Cloud joked, causing the girl to blush and stammer. The merc pulled them both down to avoid having their heads removed, then grabbed his Buster Sword before standing up again.

Harry ran forward and stabbed; to their surprise and pleasure, the blade cut through the demon's brick-like skin like a warm knife through butter. "Oh, right," he said sheepishly as he pulled back. "Gryffindor's Sword. Forgot it was effective against Dark and undead creatures..."

Aeris stood up in a sea of orange. "My turn," she said softly. "Fury Brand!" Aeris' orange dissipated, trailing off into three orbs of orange light. One sailed into Cloud, the second zeroed in on Tifa, and the third went to Harry.

"Huh? We all have our Limit Breaks again..." Harry muttered.

"That's because...my Fury Brand brings all allies up to their Limit Breaks," Aeris explained, ducking and backing away from a falling white stone. "Let loose, guys!"

"Right." Harry drew a line in front of him. "Protego!" Instantly, Protect, Shell, and Reflect snapped into existence before him, Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa. Just in time, too, as the most powerful form of Fire, Firaga, was cast at them by the Demon's Gate. It bounced off the four Reflect shields and slammed into the Gate's face, one after another, causing a near-obscene amount of damage. Tifa unleased Meteo Dive, an air-to-ground attack that utilized the power of gravity to bring enemies down. After Tifa's fist smashed downward through the Gate's maw, Cloud let loose with Meteor Rain. He spun his sword above his head several times before slamming the tip straight down. A dark portal sprung into being above him, and spat several (Harry counted seven) tiny meteorites into the beast, leaving it in a pile of rubble and broken rock.

"Whew," Harry panted, stowing Gryffindor's Sword away inside his cloak. "That was pretty slick."

Just then, Cait Sith came in through the double doors the Demon's Gate was guarding. "Sorry to keep you waiting! It's me! I'll handle the rest." He spun around. "Well, everyone...Take care of yourselves."

Aeris glanced at Cait, then looked at the floor. "Cait Sith..." She looked up and jumped over to Harry, clasping his arm. "Come on, Harry...Say something."

"Something," Harry quipped, causing Cloud, Tifa, and the stuffed cat to chuckle. Aeris scowled briefly before giggling.

Cloud rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not good at this."

"Mmm...I understand," Cait remarked. "I feel the same, too."

Aeris clapped her hands. "Why don't you read our fortunes?" she asked, digging her elbow into Harry's ribs when he started to groan.

Cait began doing his two-step fortune-telling dance. "Say, that's right...I haven't done it in a while, huh? I'm so excited! Right or wrong, I'm still the same 'ol me! Now! What should I predict?"

Aeris clapped her hands again, then stood next to Cloud. "Hmm...let's see how compatible Cloud and I are!" Tifa looked away.

"Aeris?" Harry called.

"That'll cost ya," Cait agreed. "Exactly one date!"

"What's with you people and selling services for dates?" Harry mused aloud.

"Here I go!" Cait did his routine, producing a slip of paper. He read it, then turned away. "I...uh...This isn't good. I can't say it..." Then, so softly Harry was sure he imagined it, added, "Poor Tifa."

Tifa turned away once more. Harry patted her shoulder softly as Aeris cried, "No! Tell me! I promise I won't get mad!"

"I don't think you getting mad is what he's worried about," Harry whispered. Tifa stared stoically at the stuffed cat.

"Is that so?" Cait Sith asked slowly. "Then...I'll tell you." He took a deep breath. "Looks good. You are perfect for each other! Aeris' star and Cloud's star! They show a great future!" He looked at Cloud. "Cloud, I'll be your matchmaker, preacher...I'll do whatever you want me to! Just call me when it all happens!"

As Cait Sith began to hop back toward the room with the murals, he called, "Thank you for believing in me, knowing that I was a spy. This is the final, final farewell."

"Be strong, Cait Sith!" Aeris called back. When silence answered her, she sighed sadly.

"Let's...just go," Tifa suggested. They went through the door the animated cat came in through, and shortly found themselves outside, looking at the temple from across the bridge. Then, before their eyes, it began to shrink, slowly, little by little, until at long last, in the center of the pit where the Temple used to be, lay a small, black orb that glinted in the sunlight.

* * *

Phew. So, Cait Sith turned out useful, despite being a spy.

Sirius: We can still torture him for betraying everyone though, right?

Harry: I dunno, it would feel...kinda wrong, now.

Sirius: Hey, aren't you going to show the little scene with Cait inside the Temple as he solves the puzzles?

Yeah, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the others will see that.

Ron: Oh, you mean to say that we'll get more screen time?

Ginny: Not that we're on a screen or something.

Hermione: Or a movie, you mean?

How the heck did you lot get in here?


	43. Be a Man, Cloud!

This chapter starts out with Ron and Tonks and them watching Cait Sith going up to the altar room to solve the puzzles.

Sirius: So this is the _real_ conclusion to the Temple of the Ancients?

Well...yeah.

Harry: But I thought that was supposed to be the last chapter.

Well, it was the conclusion of the tour of the interior...

* * *

"Remus," Shacklebolt called. "I just firecalled Minerva. She said she would drop by as soon as she could, but she'll be pretty busy for a while. Not sure when she'll be able to come."

"Alright, Kingsley. Thanks," the old werewolf replied.

"The Headmistress is coming here?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Remus answered. "More for an update than anything else; there's still far too much we don't know to attempt anything to try and get Harry out of there." He glanced at the holly and pheonix feather wand that belonged to his surrogate nephew.

Ron looked fearful. "She's not going to yell at me, too, is she?"

"Yell?" Remus blinked. "She's never yelled, except to focus the attention of her students to her."

"That's right, Ron," Ginny agreed. "She has that whole, 'cold steel kind of voice' thing going on when she lectures trouble makers."

"That's not completely true," Hermione said slowly. "Back in first year...when we got caught returning from taking Norbert up to meet Charlie's friends, remember? She yelled at Harry, Neville, and me."

"Oh." Remus looked suprised. "Maybe old age has..."

Whatever Remus thought old age had done to the Headmistress, they would never know, as Tonks chose that precise moment to trip over her feet as she stood up to plop on the couch to watch the TV some more. As she fell, she bumped into Remus, sending him sprawling as well. "Sorry, Remus! You okay?"

"How kind of you to drop in, Nymphadora," the werewolf quipped. Tonks smacked his arm as everyone sniggered.

On the screen, meanwhile, Cait Sith was hopping along the corrdior of the mural room. "She told me to 'Be strong.' I feel so happy," the animated cat said to him. He then imitated Tonks by tripping and falling. "Owww...What happened?" He righted himself and climbed back onto his once-again-upright Moogle steed. "I can still move." He bounded up to the altar. "This must be it!" he remarked, inspecting the stone pedastal closely. "The Ancients sure did a great job making this." He pumped his arms. "I can protect the Planet, too!" He covered his face. "I'm kinda embarrassed." He shook his head. "There's plenty of stuffed toys like my body around, but there's only one me! Don't forget me, even if another Cait Sith comes along." He turned to the altar. "Good bye, then! I guess I'm off to save the Planet..." Then, the screen went white before fading back into Cloud, Harry, Tifa, and Aeris.

* * *

"That's the Black Materia," Cloud whispered, kneeling at the edge of the twenty-foot deep pit.

"I'll wait here," Tifa volunteered.

"Me too," Harry agreed.

Cloud nodded and made his way down to the bottom quickly, followed by Aeris who moved more slowly. Cloud picked up the Black Materia. "As long as we have this, Sephiroth won't be able to used Meteor." He looked at Aeris. "Mmm? Can you guys use it?"

"Nope, we can't use it right now," Aeris shook her head. "You need great spiritual power to use it."

"You mean lots of Spiritual Energy?" Cloud inquired.

Aeris nodded. "That's right. One person's power alone won't do it. Somewhere special...Where there's plenty of the Planet's energy...Oh yeah!"

"The Promised Land," Harry remarked.

"The Promised Land?" Cloud repeated. "No, but..."

"Sephiroth is different. He's not an Ancient," Aeris explained.

"Then he can't find the Promised Land?" Tifa mused.

There was a flash of light as Sephiroth appeared next to Cloud. "Ah, but I have," he declared.

Cloud and Aeris jumped back into fighting stances. Harry began making his way down slowly, much more so than Aeris' route. "I'm far superior to the Ancients. I became a traveler of the Lifestream and gained the knowledge and the wisdom of the Ancients. I also gained the knowledge and wisdom of those after the extinction of the Ancients. And soon, I will create the future," Sephiroth explained.

"I won't let you do it! The future is not only yours!" Aeris protested, gripping her staff tightly.

"Ha ha ha...I wonder?" Sephiroth chuckled, floating slightly off the ground. Harry finally reached the bottom of the pit and stood beside Aeris. "Wake up!" the silver-haired man suddenly cried, waving his hand at Cloud.

The blonde fell to his knees, dropping his Buster Sword. "Sh...shut up!" he growled, clutching his head.

"There, Cloud...good boy," Sephiroth taunted.

"The...Noise..." Cloud grunted. "Wa...aaaa...aaa..."

"What's wrong, Cloud?" Harry asked. Suddenly, Cloud jerked upright onto his feet. As though he was mindlessly, he slowly walked over to Sephiroth...and handed him the Black Materia.

"Well done," Sephiroth praised, just before rocketing skyward in a flash of light. Cloud fell and clutched his head again.

"Cloud, are you all right?" Aeris asked, putting away her staff and kneeling next to him.

"...I gave...the Black Materia to Sephiroth...?" the mercenary stuttered. He straighted up, then fell after a moment at Aeris' feet. "Wha...what did I do...tell me, Aeris."

"Cloud, be strong, OK?"

"Urrrrrrgh...What have I done!?"

Harry was confused, but Aeris kept speaking. "Cloud...you haven't done anything. It's not your fault!"

Cloud stood slowly, and Aeris stood as well. Before anyone could move, Cloud drew back his fist and slugged Aeris across the jaw. Harry ran and tackled Cloud to the ground instantly, and attempted to keep the stronger man down and away from the stunned Aeris.

"Cloud, stop!"

"I...I'm...!"

"Cloud!" Tifa called.

"Oops! This looks like I came at a bad time. I'm Cait Sith No. Two. Right pleased to meet you all!" Cait Sith's voice said, but he was ignored.

"Cloud, what are you doing!?" Tifa cried, jumping down to the pit and giving the slowly losing Harry a hand. She landed a solid punch on Cloud's temple.

"Everything is white...What did I do? I dont' remember anything..." Cloud muttered dazedly. "My memory...since when...? If everything's a dream...don't wake me..." With that, he faded into unconsciousness.

Harry panted and let Cloud's limp form fall to the ground. "Phew..." He gently fingered a bruise on his jaw where he collected a couple of punches. "I think I'm going to be feeling this later..."

"Come on," Tifa said, helping Aeris to her feet. "Let's get Cloud and go back to the plane. We can go somewhere and rest."

"Right."

* * *

"He's gone mad, hasn't he?" Ron asked the shocked-into-silence group of Harry's friends.

"Maybe," Ginny whispered. "Though it looked more like Sephiroth was possessing him."

The screen faded back in...to a calm, green forest. Aeris poked her head around a tree. "Cloud, can you hear me?" she called.

A blue text box containing Cloud's response appeared on screen, but Cloud himself did not appear. "Yeah, I hear you. Sorry for what happened."

Aeris comes out from behind the tree, but doesn't look toward the screen. "Don't worry about it."

"I can't help it..."

"Oh..." Aeris disappeared behind the tree she just popped out from behind of, then jumped out from behind another tree on the opposite side of the forest without visibly walking the distance between them. "Then, why don't you _really_ worry about it?" She ran forward and wiped her brow. "And let me handle Sephiroth?" She giggled and flashed away in a bright light. She came out from behind yet a third tree, a little farther back into the background. "And Cloud, you take care of yourself." She walked behind a tree, but leaned back and peeked at the screen. "So you don't have a breakdown, okay?"

She and Cloud descended to the ground from the sky like puppets. Cloud was closer to the screen. "What is this place?" he asked.

Aeris put her hands behind her back and looked skyward. "This forest leads to the City of the Ancients...and is called Sleeping Forest." She looked at Cloud. "It's only a matter of time before Sephiroth uses Meteor. That's why I'm going to protect it. Only a survivor of the Cetra, like me, can do it." She turned and began to walk a distance into the forst. "The secret is just up here. At least, it should be...I feel it. It feels like I'm being led by something." She waved cutely at Cloud. "Then, I'll be going now. I'll come back when it's all over."

"Aeris?" Cloud called. Ignoring him, the flower girl turned and ran off into the forest, getting smaller until she disappeared into the bright green sunlight. Cloud tried to run after her; he made the motions, but he didn't move, like he was in a dream. He stopped after Aeris finally disappeared from view. Then, Sephiroth spoke from somewhere off-screen.

"Hmm...She's thinking of interfering? She will be a difficult one, don't you think?" The silver-haired man descended from above, much like Aeris and Cloud had. "We must stop that girl soon." With those words, the screen flashed, then went completely dark.

"That was...kinda creepy," Ron muttered.

"What's going on?" Tonks asked.

"Well...I think Aeris may have left the group in the real world, heading to the City of the Ancients to try and stop Sephiroth from using the Black Materia to summon Meteor," Hermione summarized. "Somehow, she told Cloud all this through some form of telepathy or dream-talking; it seemed Sephiroth was listening, and knows about her plan and intends to stop her from interfering." She swallowed and paled. "He'll probably kill her."

* * *

Seems like a nice place to leave off, especially to make a cliff hanger, right?

Sirius: Well, I can't deny that it would be effective...

Harry: The Bone Village and the Sleeping Forest will be its own chapter, right?

Yeah, I'll make it so the end of Disc One is Chapter 45. On with the story!

* * *

Harry, Barret, and Tifa stood around the bed in Gongaga Village Inn that Cloud was laying in. He suddenly opened his eyes and shot up like a board.

"You look like you was havin' a nightmare," Barret remarked. "How are yeh feelin'?"

Cloud shrugged. "I...think I'm OK..."

"That's good," Barret nodded. "Man, I didn't know what was gonna happen."

"You know, Cloud, Aeris is gone," Tifa supplied.

"Everyone's out looking for her," Harry added.

Cloud shook his head and looked at the floor. "City of the Ancients...Aeris is headed there."

"By herself!?" Barret cried. "Why did she go by herself!? Hey, we're goin' too!"

"Only the Ancients, only Aeris can save us from Meteor," Cloud whispered.

"All the more reason for us to go, too," Harry said.

Tifa nodded in agreement. "We must go. What'll we do if something happens to Aeris? If Sephiroth finds her, she's in trouble."

Cloud shook his head. "Sephiroth...already knows."

"Then what are we still sitting around for?" Harry bellowed.

Tifa nodded. "Let's go, Cloud."

Another shake of the head from the blonde. "No." He put his face in his hands. "I...I might lose it again. If Sephiroth comes near me, I might..."

"Yeah, godammit!" Barret roared. "It's 'cuz of you that Sephiroth got the Black Materia in the first place. It's your damn fault!"

Cloud looked up in surprise. "My fault?"

"I know you get problems," Barret continued. "Hell, we all do. But you don't even undertsand yourself. But you gotta understand that there ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on, till we get to the end of the line."

"Cloud, we came this far...Aren't you even going to settle up with Sephiroth?" Tifa asked.

Cloud clutched his head. "No...I"m afraid. If this keeps up, I may go crazy. I'm afraid..."

"Just a damn jackass, that's what you are," Barret grumbled. "Yo, jes' think about it...How many people in this world do ya think really understand themselves? People get depressed in life because they don't know what's up. But, they go on living. They don't run away...isn't that how it is?" He left the building.

"Cloud...you'll come with us, right?" Tifa whispered, patting his hand. "I believe in you." She followed Barret out.

"Cloud..." Harry sighed. He shook his head. "And here I was, thinking you were cool. That you were strong and tough. That you were a man."

Cloud snapped his head up, scowling. "I am!"

"Then prove it," Harry ordered, before turning and leaving. Cloud stared after him in shock.

Outside, Harry found Tifa and Barret waiting. "Cloud..." Tifa whispered worriedly.

"Wait a minute, Tifa. Give him a little time," Barret warned. "He has to decide this on his own." Tifa turned to the man with the gun-arm. "You believe in Cloud...right?"

They stood in silence for some time. Harry reckoned about half an hour before Cloud stepped out, suited up for battle.

"Cloud..." Tifa began.

"Hey, how are you?" Barret asked, cutting her off. "I just wanna know, which is it gonna be? You wanna find out about yourself? Or are ya afraid to find out? Either way, you stay around here and about all you can do is worry about it."

Harry chuckled darkly. "Even if you do go nutters again when you see Sephiroth...If it happens, it happens. I'll have Barret go upside your spiky white head and bring you back to normal." Barret nodded in agreement.

"Cloud, it'll be all right," Tifa smiled softly. "We're all with you."

"But..." he protested.

"What's coming will come, and we'll just have to meet it when it does," Harry said, quoting Hagrid's favored proverb.

Cloud crossed his arms for moment, thinking. He nodded. "You're...right..." He turned to Tifa. "He's right, isn't he?"

"Of course I am!...For once..."

"Come on," Tifa urged. "Let's go and find Aeris."

* * *

Alright! Two more chapters and we'll be finished with the majority of Final Fantasy VII!

Harry: Isn't it spread out onto three discs, though?

Hermione: *Nodding* The math doesn't add up, unless...

Yeah, most of the game is on Disc One. Disc Two revolves around finding the solution to the major problem, which won't take another 45 chapters, I think, and Disc Three is implementing that solution. After that, Harry moves on to Final Fantasy VIII.

Sirius: I want one of those gunblade thingies!

Cor, Hermione, and Harry: NO, Sirius!


	44. Village of the Bones

Sirius: You need a job, mate.

I know, I know.

* * *

Bone Village, and by proxy the Sleeping Forest, lay on the continent to the north. Once everyone boarded the Tiny Bronco, they set sail (well, kinda) and made their way north. They reached the shoreline close to noon, and less than half an hour later, Cloud and Harry lead the others into town.

"Welcome to Bone Village, a town for nature lovers," an old man near sitting near the gate greeted them. "What do you want?"

"Where is the City of the Ancients?" Cloud asked.

"The City of the Ancients?" he looked thoughtful. "Oh, you must mean the Forgotten City."

"Do you know where Aeris is?" Harry questioned.

"Are you talking about that girl? I warned her, but she went into the Sleeping Forest anyway," he answered.

Tifa looked around. "What is it that you do here?"

"We're excavating," he said simply. "It's like the land's telling a history of the planet. We use the newest system to find buried treasure. We simulate earthquakes by using bombs, and then check the sound waves given off by the tremors."

"Seismography?" Red inquired.

The old man nodded. "Right. Anyway, the forest just beyond here is called the Sleeping Forest. Right now, the forest is 'asleep,' and anyone who wanders in while it's 'asleep,' it confuses. You can go in, but may never come out. But...just now, a girl in pink and a man in a Black Cape went in. You think they'll be all right?"

Harry turned to Cloud. "Aeris should be fine; more than likely, the Ancients are who created the forest, and since she's one, she can find the way through without any help."

"Right," Cloud agreed. "Whereas Sephiroth and ourselves would have a more difficult time."

"If you have the Lunar Harp, which is somewhere in the ground here, you'll have safe passage through the forest," the old man remarked. "We could excavate it for you if you want to."

"We don't have much choice," Nanaki muttered.

"Just gotta do it," Cid agreed.

Cloud nodded toward the man. "Start diggin'."

"Alright!" the man agreed. "Then I'll lend you some of my staff. Show us where you want to dig!"

Cloud set up a network of five staff members that pretty much covered the area with accuracy. He nodded at the chief, who set off the bomb.

**KABOOM!**

"Each staff member will calculate the tremors and face the buried item," the old man was explaining to Harry after their eyes quit ringing from the blast. "In other words, the point where the staff's line of vision meets it the Dig Point."

One by one, the five workers all faced a certain spot. "Right. We'll dig there," Harry commanded.

"The staff will dig. The result of the dig will be placed in the town treasure box overnight," the old man motioned toward a box to his right.

"Well, I guess we have a night to rest," Cloud muttered. "Hope the forest will hold Sephiroth for a while yet; I have no doubt he can make it through with time."

* * *

There was a harp-shaped object in the town treasure box the next morning. Harry picked it up, and felt a tingle in his hands. "This is the Lunar Harp, all right," he said, inspecting some runes enscribed along the cool metal. "I can feel the magic in it."

Nanaki studied it as well. "Yes," he agreed. "This is it. Besides the smell of the earth, it also holds the scent of the old, very old magic that is coming from the forest."

"Then, let's mosey," Cloud suggested.

Harry and Cid both groaned. "What kind of wimpy-ass order is that?" Cid growled, taking a drag on his ever-present cigarette.

"We've been over this already, Cloud," Harry agreed.

"Alright, alright..." Cloud sighed, grinning. "Move it!"

The Sleeping Forest was covered in a green, almost sun-like light. Harry felt a sense of serenity as he stepped between the trees, and felt a content smile plaster itself on his face. Despite that, his mind remained sharp; after Voldemort's Horcruxes, he knew when he was dealing with enchantments that ensnared the mind. "So, this is how it confuses those who enter," Harry remarked.

"Huh?" That was all the response he received from his companions. Yes, even Nanaki.

Harry grinned sardonically. "The Forest enchants intruders with a sense of calm and peace - what you're feeling now. It's also trying to ensnare me, but since I had to deal with mind-altering spells during the civil war at home, I can tell when I'm under one." He pulled out the Lunar Harp from Cloud's hands and strummed the strings.

As the few notes floated through the air, the enchantment broke instantly, and the green light faded until they could see beyond the forest into a valley beyond. "You see what I mean?" Harry remarked, giving the Harp back to Cloud. "The Lunar Harp breaks the spell, granting safe passage through the forest."

"Way to go, kid," Cid chuckled. "Let's get moving. If the forest really is this small, no doubt that bastard Sephiroth got through quickly."

The path down into the valley was covered with and surrounded by what appeared to be shells and coral, as though the valley and the city within were truly beneath the ocean, or at least was at one point in time. The few monsters that braved the valley's protective warding were quickly dispatched by Cloud's sword, Barret's gun-arm, and Cid's spear (they were in the lead). It wasn't long before they entered the Forgotten City of the Ancients.

"Wow...I feel calm here," Tifa breathed. "Really, really calm."

"It's like the forest, but it isn't attempting to confuse us," Harry agreed. "Let's take a look around."

Harry, Red XIII, and Cait Sith went along the path to the right; Barret and Cid went to the left, while Cloud and Tifa strode forward. Harry and his two companions found a few buildings, made of the same oceanic-like material as the rest of the city and the path in the valley. Inside the only still-standing building was a room with several beds. "Looks pretty comfortable," Cait Sith declared.

"We can rest here," Harry agreed. He called the others on the PHS. "There's a building with a lot of beds. If we need to, we can spend the night here."

"Roger," Cid grunted. "There ain't nothing but a damn old armlet in this building over here, and some effin' message player that no one can make sense of."

"I did find a Materia," Cloud replied, "but that's it. We're heading back, now."

It was a few minutes before the four mde their way to Harry's location. "Shall we take a break here?" Tifa questioned.

"Might as well," Cloud agreed.

* * *

"I feel it..."

Those were the words that Harry heard when he woke up. It sounded like Cloud...but then Cid's voice broke the silence.

"Do you know what TIME it is!?"

Harry opened his eyes. Cloud nodded. "Aeris is here...and so is Sephiroth."

"Are you joking?" Harry gasped. He hurried pulled his shoes on and gripped his sword.

"But, how can you tell?" Tifa wondered.

Cloud shook his head. "It's not an excuse. I feel it in my soul."

"Shit, Cloud, we can't be sittin' around on our asses," Cid growled, fingering his spear.

"Right," Cloud nodded. "Let's hurry and find Aeris."

* * *

A short transition chapter. Next chapter is the finale of Disc One.

Sirius: I can't wait to see what happens.

Harry: You can too. You don't have any choice.

Sirius: *whining* Don't remind me.


	45. The Death of a Flower Girl

Cloud: I am not a puppet.

*smugly* You said it, not me.

Sirius: Cor, I'd run if I were you.

Harry: _Sirius_ly.

* * *

Cloud led the way through the city. He stopped at the intersection and looked down every path, before turning to the north. "Aeris' voice...Coming from there?"

Harry, Tifa, and Cid followed him, leaving Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Barret to watch over their base camp in the remaining building. The quartet walked around a calm, mirrorlike pool, and into a small, spiral-shaped building. "That wasn't here before," Cloud muttered, staring at the glass stairway that led down into...Harry couldn't see where it led.

"Aeris?" Harry murmured. "Are you down there?"

They stepped down the stairs, gradually reaching a huge, elegant, crystalline city suspended in space. "This is amazing," Tifa gasped.

A small shrine to their right stood above the water. Inside, Harry could see a head of brown hair. "Aeris?" he called, wincing at the echo.

Cloud leapt to the first of five columns that served as steps to the small shrine, waving the others back as he did so. Quickly, he hopped the rest of the columns, and stepped up the stairs into the shrine where Aeris was kneeling. He stopped, staring at the flower girl, before slowly, mechanically drawing his Buster Sword. He shakes his head, as though fighting to clear it or something, then stood before Aeris.

"Something's wrong with Cloud!" Harry whispered, disregarding Cloud's earlier motion and leaping across the columns. As Cloud brought his sword back above his head, Harry reached forward.

"Cloud! Stop!" Tifa cried from the ledge behind them.

Harry pulled Cloud back, who shook his head and let himself be pulled. "Ugh...What are you making me do?" he whispered.

"Sephiroth?" Harry asked.

Aeris looked as though she was praying. She looked up, apparently for the first time, and sees Cloud. She smiled beautifully. Harry looked up as a shadow fell over them. "Look out!" he cried, but too late.

Sephiroth's sword impaled Aeris' body as time seemed to slow down. Harry's heart pounded in his ears, and Sephiroth smirked at them, his cat-like eyes glittering. With the noise of grating metal, he pulled his blade from Aeris' body, leaving her to fall forward, eyes open in shock...but still with the smile on her face. Her eyes close, and as she falls, her hair ribbon came undone, allowing a small, pale green Materia to fall. Harry's Seeker reflexes kicked in as Cloud caught Aeris, and he reached out and snatched the Materia before it bounced off the shrine and into the water. He slipped it into his pocket as he turns back to Sephiroth, who stood with his arms spread, looking skyward with a look of unholy glee on his face.

"Aeris..." Cloud gasped, gently shaking her body. "This can't be real!"

"Do not worry," Sephiroth lectured. "Soon the girl will become part of the Planet's energy. All that is left is to go North. The 'Promised Land' waits for me over the snowy fields. There, I will become a new being by uniting with this Planet. As will the girl-"

"Shut up," Harry interrupted, pulling his sword.

Trembling, Cloud glared up at the white-haired man. "The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing." He glanced down again to Aeris' lifeless face, ignoring the blood that was slowly welling up from her stomach to dye his shirt. "Aeris is gone. She will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry...or get angry..." He bowed his head. "What about us...what are _we_ supposed to do?" Cloud laid Aeris gently on the floor. "What about my pain? My fingers are tingling...My mouth is dry...My eyes are burning!"

Sephiroth lowered his arms and looked at Cloud. "What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me you have feelings, too?"

"No, he's telling you you're going to die," Harry growled, pulling his sword into an offensive position.

"Of course! Who do you think I am!?" Cloud cried, standing up and drawing his sword.

Sephiroth laughed. "Ha ha ha! Stop acting as if you were sad. There's no need to act as though you're angry, either." He rose into the air, looking down at Cloud. "Because, Cloud. You are..."

A flash of light, and Cloud and Harry were now facing..."Jenova?" Harry whispered, rolling to the side of the shrine to avoid a blue laser.

"I thought you killed her on the Shinra ship?" Tifa asked, leaping into the fray and knocking the blue-gray monster back with a flying kick to the face.

"Jenova...doesn't die easily," Cloud growled. His orange Limit Break was brighter than ever. "Finishing Touch!" he roared, spinning his blade around above his head and flinging it, blade first, at Jenova. Once the sword was impaled, Cloud dashed forward and gripped the hilt, yanked it out viciously, and then spun around and _literally_ cut Jenova in half - horizontally. The monster looked astonished, for a moment, before the two halves slid away from each other and faded, in a flash of red light, into a small tentacle that shriveled up and died.

"I'm...a puppet...?" Harry heard someone whisper; he looked at Cloud, who was covering his eyes. _Who said that?_ he wondered to himself.

Aeris' body was resting against one wall of the shrine. Cid stood before her, taking a long drag on his cigarette before looking skyward, as if in prayer. He turned and left. Tifa knelt next to Aeris, gently touching her face, her hair, before covering her own mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, running off after Cid. Harry sighed and looked down, musing over the fact that, had he been faster, he may have saved her. He turned and slowly walked away, only vaguely aware of Cloud picking up the flower girl's body and bringing it up to the surface with her.

Everyone gathered around the small pond in front of the spiral-shaped building that served as the entrance to the City of the Ancients where Aeris was killed. Cloud glanced at everyone one by one, before slowly turning and wading out waist deep into the water. The liquid barely reacted to the foreign matter as Cloud gently lowered Aeris into the clear blue water, her hands folded over her stomach just above where Sephiroth pierced her body with his sword. The mercenary slowly released her and stepped back. For a moment, the body floated on the surface, then sunk beneath the water, descending into the deep, peaceful water for her final rest.

* * *

Everyone gathered in the building with the beds; Cloud was turned away, wiping his face clear of tears. "Everyone, listen to me," he said suddenly, with a strong, steady voice. He turned around to see that they were listening, though Harry and Tifa didn't stop the tears on their faces. "I...am Cloud, ex-SOLDIER, born in Nibelheim. I came...to settle up with Sephiroth."

"What's...going on?" Tifa asked brokenly.

"I came here by my own free will...or so I thought," Cloud admitted. "However..." He gestured with his hand. "To tell the truth, I'm afraid...of myself." He turned away. "There is a part of me that I don't understand, that isn't me. That part that made me give the Black Materia to Sephiroth." He cringed. "If you hadn't stopped me, Aeris might've been..." He shook his head. "There's something inside of me, a person who is not really me." He turned back around. "That's why I should quit this journey...before I do something terrible." He raised his hand and clenched it into a first. "But I am going...He destroyed my hometown five years ago, killed Aeris, and is now trying to destroy the Planet. I'll never forgive...Sephiroth." He stopped shaking, but his fist remained in place. "I...I must go on." He looked at them, dropping his fist. "I have a favor to ask of you. Will you all come with me?" He looked up. "...To save me from doing something terrible."

Harry stood up and clasped his shoulder. "We'll be there, mate. We're in this together, until the end."

Cid nodded gravely. "Well, we'll face it when that happens."

"I don't know how Aeris tried to save the Planet from Meteor," Nanaki declared. "Now, we'll never know, but..."

Cloud ndoded. "We still have a chance. We must get the Black Materia back before Sephiroth uses it...Let's go."

Everyone stepped outside, but Harry hesitated, pulling the pale green Materia from his pocket. He gripped it, hoping to find out what it was...but nothing answered his query. "What are you?" he whispered to it.

"Hurry up, kid!" Cid's gravelly voice yelled.

Harry sighed and slid the Materia into the sole empty spot on his Materia bangle. He didn't feel anything, but he figured there wouldn't be any safer place for it. "Coming," he called back, gripping his sword for a moment before leaving the building. He turned back toward the beds. "Sorry Aeris, but...we have a job to do."

* * *

And Disc One is finished.

Harry: So why do I have Aeris' Materia?

It'll come into play later.

Sirius: Isn't it H-mpphf?

*Cor's hand over Sirius' mouth* No, Sirius. It's important, but no one will know what it is until much later.

Sirius: *freeing himself from Cor's hand* But...

No!


	46. Winter Wonderland

Here's the first chapter of Disc Two of Final Fantasy VII.

Harry: Will I be protected from the cold because I'm equipping the Elemental Materia with Shiva?

Of course.

Sirius: *blinks in surprise*

* * *

"I wonder which way he went?" Tifa mused as they stood outside their resting place.

"He did say something about going North," Harry replied.

"Ugh...." Cloud grunted, kneeling and clutching his head. He started shaking his head.

"Ey, hey! You alright?" Cid asked.

"Hmm...Sephiroth said to me...Head North...past the Fields..." Cloud whispered.

"Isn't that what I just said...?" Harry whined playfully. Nanaki reared up and swatted him upside the head with his forepaw, taking care to keep his claws retracted. "Oi!"

They followed Cloud as he walked north, smacking down any monsters that got in their way. They climbed up inside a spiralling coral shell, then stepped out onto the outside of it and leapt a small gap to an equally-small ledge that held a cave opening. Inside, there was a light from an opening several dozen meters above their head. The only way up was to climb inside the narrow cracks. Cloud adjusted his gloves, then, balling his hands into fists, rock-climbed by pressing against both sides of the crack and pulling himself up.

"That doesn't look too hard," Harry scowled. He mimicked Cloud's actions and began to climb up. He reached the first ledge shortly behind the blonde merc and inspected his hands. "Ow..." he mused, seeing the scrapes on his skin. He glanced up. "Oi..."

Barret, carrying Nanaki, was next, followed by Tifa, Cid, and finally Cait Sith. As they climbed further up, Harry grimaced, ignoring the pain in his hands (thankfully they hadn't started to bleed yet). Two dozen meters up, they came to another ledge that ran to their left, where Cloud found a rock formation that served as a ladder leading all the way up. Harry smiled thankfully and poured a Potion on his hands, healing them, before climbing up easily after him.

They soon emerged into bright sunlight on a snowy plain. Cloud, Tifa, and Cid all shivered for a second. "It's chilly out here," the grizzly old pilot grunted.

"I don't feel any different," Harry replied. "Just...comfortable."

"You some kinda effin' pola bear or sumthin'?" Barret grunted, rubbing his arm with his real hand.

Harry thought for a moment, then raised his Materia bracelet and looked at it. "No, I think it's the Elemental Materia I have linked to Shiva, who is an Ice elemental..."

"That would explain it," Cloud agreed. "Let's go before the rest of us freeze, kid."

The hike across the snow was not as fast moving as walking across the grass. For one thing, their feet sank a couple of inches with every step. They had, once again, split into two groups; Cloud, Harry, Red XIII, and Cait Sith were in one, while Tifa, Barret, and Cid formed the other.

Red, it seemed, wasn't affected by this level of cold, either. But then, he had a heavy fur coat. Harry thought he looked quite comical after the lion-like creature stepped into an unexpected deep spot and sunk under the snow for a moment before springing out in an explosion of the white powder. Red had snow everywhere on him, despite his shaking to get it off. He grumbled good-naturedly at their laughter, before 'accidentally' shoving Cid into the snow he had just leapt out of. Cid yelped and did an even more comical version of Nanaki's leap from the snow. Harry and Cloud doubled over laughing.

Their laughter had attracted a few monsters, however. Harry quit laughing in time to roll away from an attack and swing his sword, lopping off his foe's head. Cloud wasn't so lucky; after he was hit with a Blizzara spell, he growled and chopped with the Buster Sword. The large, heavy blade cut the monster in two. Cid speared his opponent with ease, lighting a new cigarette. Red cast Fira on his icy target. The magical flames made the beast shriek and run off.

No furthur incidents interrupted their travel to the a snow-bound town. Cloud, Harry, Red XIII, and Cait Sith made to just simply pass through the town, but before they could leave through the back exit, a voice cried, "No, don't! It's a steep downgrade past here! It's dangerous, please don't go!"

"Thanks for the warning, but we're still going to go," Harry replied.

"Damn, I was just being nice...What the!?" the man gasped, looking back to the entrance of town. "Who are those people over there!? Looks like trouble!"

Cloud and Harry looked back. There was Elena and two Shinra guards, running straight for them. "There they are! Hurry!" Elena bellowed, pointing at Harry.

"Why is she pointing at me?" Harry wondered aloud petulantly.

"You!" Elena huffed and wheezed. "I won't...let you go...any further!"

Cloud shrugged. "What's down there?"

"It's a SE-CR-ET!" Elena growled, catching her breath.

"Oh wow, she can spell," Harry mocked.

"I thought there wasn't such a thing as a 'smart' blonde," Cloud agreed, smirking.

Elena howled with fury. "You really got guts doin' my boss in like that!" she roared at Harry.

Harry cocked his head. "You mean Tseng? That wasn't us, Sephiroth did it."

"No!" Elena shook her head. "Don't think you can fool me, liar!"

"I'm not lying! It was Sephiroth!" Harry shouted back.

"Don't try to act innocent. I'll never forget it!"

Cloud scratched his head. "Oh man. She won't listen."

"Guess she isn't so intelligent after all," Cait Sith chuckled.

"Looks like talking alone won't cut it," Elena growled, tapping her foot. "You're going to have to feel some pain!"

A guard stepped toward Harry. "Just you...and me!!!"

Elena shook her head. "No, I can handle him! There's no way he can avoid my punch."

"Yeah, whatever," Harry smirked as the guard stepped back and Elena stalked forward. She reared back and threw her fist forward. Harry, expecting something like this, ducked and grabbed Elena's wrist, executing a perfect hip throw. Elena was sent tumbling down the hill, cannonball style.

"Ele...Elena!?" the guards cried, giving chase. Cloud, Harry, Cait Sith, and Nanaki burst out laughing.

"Some punch," Harry chuckled.

"That was pretty good, kid," Cloud smirked. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

"Well, I did learn it from Tifa."

The guy that had warned them about the downgrade came out of his hiding place. "What that...? They sure were weak for the Shinras." He shook his head. "Sorry I just took off like that. It looked like there was going to be trouble. Anyhow, you'll need a snwoboard to get down the hill. Want me to teach you to ride one?"

The quartet listened carefully. After the man's lecture, Cloud asked if he would teach their friends, who should be coming along behind them at some point. The man nodded as he showed them to the snowboard shop.

Cloud purchased a blue and gray snowboard with no designs on it. Harry bought a fire-red board with flame decals and a dragon in flight design on the bottom. Red was surprised to find a board wide enough for him, so he took the red snowboard with a wolf theme. Cait Sith obtained a wide snow board as well, but this one was decorated with mystic symbols and crystal balls.

They four stood at the top of the slope. "Last one to the bottom is a greasy git!" Harry cried suddenly, dashing forward and leaping into the air, sliding his board beneath his feet before he hit the snow, sliding down the slope.

Harry was having a blast, snowboarding down the mountainside. He slalomed back and forth as he slid down, until he hit an upturned pile of snow and shot into the air. Grinning, he flipped backwards and spun around, seeing that his friends were close behind. He turned right-side up and landed perfectly, swerving around a couple of trees and letting Red and Cloud catch up to him. "Having fun, kid?" Cloud shouted, smiling.

"You know it!" he called back.

Red smirked. "Kids..." he chuckled, taking the lead.

"Oh no you don't!" Cloud cried, crouching down and picking up speed. He shot off into the air on another drift, grabbing the edge of his board and pulling to his side, his feet still planted on it, and flipped forward into a cool-looking manuever.

"I can top that!" Harry shouted, hitting the ramp after Cloud. He pulled his board above his head and spun it around twice. He flipped up and replanted his feet on the board, then flipped back over so the board was beneath him again, in time to hit the snow and blow past an astonished Cloud and Nanaki.

Cloud glanced at Red. "He thinks he's got skills."

Red glanced at Cloud. "He does have skills. Just not as good as ours."

Pretty soon, Cait Sith was left behind as he carefully snowboarded down the slope. "What about me, you guys?" he cried. His cry fell on deaf ears as Harry, Cloud, and Red raced for the bottom.

Near the bottom of the slope, Cloud, Nanaki, and Harry were neck-and-neck...and neck. The all hit the final jump at the same time. Unfortunately, Red, being a quadruped, was not suited for jumps, and as a result, collided with Harry in mid-air. This sent Harry flailing into Cloud, and all three hit the snow in a rolling tumble. Snow was kicked up into the air as they rolled down the hill, turning into a snowball. They didn't get far, though, before their gathering snowball slammed into the tree, bringing them to a halt. "Ugh..." Harry groaned. He felt for injuries, but didn't feel anything beyond a general ache all over.

"I...guess we're still in one piece..." Cloud grunted. "Everyone all right?"

"Yeah, somehow," Red whimpered, standing up. He shook himself free of the snow.

"So, where did we land? Looks like we went pretty far," Harry asked as Cait Sith slid to a stop in front of them.

"It sure is cold," the stuff cat shivered.

"We'll freeze if we stay here any longer," Cloud agreed. "Let's move."

The monsters they encountered here were noticeably stronger than those up on the snowy plains, but there were still no match for the four that picked their way across to a half-frozen lake. It was here that Cait and Nanaki both collapsed. "Hey!"

Harry shook Red, feeling his nose. "He's freezing!" He looked at Cloud, who too had collapsed. "Cloud?"

"Let me help you there, sonny," an old man called. He wrapped spare blankets around the three, before offering one to Harry.

"I'm fine; I'm protected from the cold," he declined, showing the man his Shiva-Elemental Materia combo. The old man nodded.

"That's fine here, but it won't completely protect you if you try to climb Gaia's Cliff up ahead. Come on, let's get your friends back to my hut."

* * *

"You awake, Cloud?" Harry asked when the mercenary began to stir. The man, who introduced himself as Holzoff, was up in the loft. He came down.

"What happened?" Red asked, slowly raising his head from underneath the heavy blankets draped over them.

"You lot collapsed at the Great Glacier," Harry replied.

"It's a miracle you're all right," Holzoff agreed. "My name is Holzoff. I've been living here for twenty years now. If you're planning to head North, you'd better listen to my story." He paused and gathered a breath. "You ever hear about those who challenged the cliff?"

Cloud shook his head 'no.' "There's an old legend that says something fell from the sky here a long time ago," Holzoff explained. "That's what's supposed to have pushed the land up and formed this cliff. Thirty years ago, Yamski and I took this cliff on to see what was on the other side. But...we weren't prepared for it. We did expect the temperature to be low, but..." He shook his head. "On that cliff, there's always a biting cold wind. The cold air lowers your body temperature."

Holzoff looked away. "Yamski...he was below me. He cut his own rope...and I didn't even notice..." He turned back. "Ever since then, I've settled here, continuing to challenge the cliff, and provide warning and shelter to my fellow climbers. If you're going to climb the cliff, there's two precautions you'll need to take.

"First, check your route. It gets difficult to find because of all the snow. Second, once you get to a ledge, make sure to warm yourselves up. Understand?"

Cloud nodded. "You must've used a lot of energy getting up here," Holzoff reasoned. "Better get some rest before you head out."

* * *

Well, that takes care of that.

Harry: It's no winter wonderland anymore. But the snowboarding was fun.

Sirius: Until you, Cloud, and Nanaki all bailed?

Harry: Shut up! That wasn't my fault!

Nanaki: Sorry about that, Harry.


	47. Gaea's Cliff

I'm tired...

Harry: No kidding? This is the third chapter you're written today.

Sirius: Can't you take a break?

Well...It's started now, might as well finish this one up. Hopefully it will take the rest of class time.

* * *

Barret, Tifa, and Cid arrived the next morning. Cloud, Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Harry met them outside Holzoff's shack and relayed the warnings of climbing the cliff. "You know, I've ben thinkin'..." Barret mused.

"Hope you didn't hurt yourself," Harry quipped, smiling to remove the insult. Tifa cuffed him again.

"What is it?" Cloud prodded.

"Seein' a place like this, makes you realize how awesome nature is. But, if anyone ever told me to live here, I'd tell them to...you know..." Barret shook his head. "I tell you one thing though. If I did have to live here, I'd change things around 'n' make it better. I guess the total opposite of this would be...Midgar. When you think of it that way, Shinra don't seem so bad..." His eyes bugged out as he realized what he was saying. "Uuuuurgh! What the hell am I sayin'!? The Shinra, not bad!?"

Cloud sighed and shook his head. "Tifa, Harry, Cid and I will secure the route. The rest of you will come up later."

"Take care, everyone," Nanaki called as the four mentioned left.

Cloud and Harry climbed first, then helped Cid and Tifa up onto each ledge. "Brr...it's cold up here," Harry shivered.

Cid turned to Cloud and Tifa. "If Harry says it's cold, it's fucking _cold_!"

Cloud nodded, rubbing his arms. "Right. He's got that Materia combo, after all."

"Can we get a move on? I'm freezing here!" Tifa complained.

"You could have worn something more than a tank top and miniskirt, you know," Harry quipped, rocketing up the cliffside to avoid being smacked in the back of the head. Tifa huffed and climbed up after him, leaving Cloud and Cid snickering.

They entered a beautiful cavern that was illuminated by green crystals. "Pretty in here," Tifa whispered.

"Mm...Warmer, too," Harry agreed, rubbing his cheeks and trying to get them to warm up a little.

"Less gawking, more walking," Cid grunted. "But damn, it's downright warm in here!"

A few bats attempted to bite them, but Cid's long sqear smacked them out of the air where Cloud, Tifa, and Harry could finish them off. They climbed up to a ledge near the ceiling and found some icicles hanging from the roof. Harry looked down at the floor below. "You know...if we knock these icicles down, we may be able to use them as stepping stones to cross that pond to that opening we saw down there."

"Barret's gun-arm would be handy here," Cloud agreed. "Alright...Let's see what you can do, kid."

Harry scowled at the merc before turning to the icicles. _Wonder if Quake will knock them loose?_ Harry reached out with his mind, casting Quake2 on the icicle. He focused the spell on the ceiling where the icicles hung from, rather than the icicles themselves, and was rewarded as the cavern shook and trembled. The icicles fell loose and collapsed, splashing into the pond on the floor below and began to float, bobbing gently in the waves before the water settled down again. "Why was that so easy?" Harry mused aloud.

"Ugh....Errgaaahh!" a moan startled them. As the quartet leapt to the ground, a black cloaked figure is thrown out of the opening and across the water at them. The figure twitched and mutated as it hit the ground at their feet, becoming a human-shaped monster with two heads. There was a color difference in its scaly hide; the left side was red, while the right was icy-blue. The red head reared back and breathed fire at them; Harry and Cid rolled out of the way.

"Red equals fire, blue equals ice," Cloud called out. He cast Blizzaga on the red side, making it shudder in pain. The blue head retaliated for its other half and lurched forward, bringing its partner with it, and clumsily swung its claw at Cloud and Tifa, both of whom ducked under the wild lunge. Tifa leapt up and with a strong snap kick, sent the creature sprawling back.

Cid took a drag on his cigarette as he glowed orange. "Big Brawl!" He rushed forward with surprising speed, unleashing a barrage of whacks, stabs, and slashes with his spear unto both sides of the monster. They fell back, near dead, when Cid stepped back, panting heavily. "I'm getting too old for this," he breathed, puffing his cigarette.

"You're only as old as you think you are," Harry quipped, dashing forward and stealing a Megalixir. He stabbed the red side's neck while he was at it, finishing it off. The fire head gurgled and faded from view, leaving Ole Blue extremely disoriented and even clumsier than it was when its other half was dazed. Cloud took advantage of its confusion and decapitated the beast.

"That's the way to get a_head_," Harry quipped, eliciting groans from his companions. "Let's go."

Crossing the pond and stepping through the opening in the cave wall, they found themselves on a narrow ledge near the top of the cliff. "We actually made it?" Cid breathed.

"Of course we did. We're heroes, remember?" Harry joked. Cid shook his head in exasperation.

They climbed the last couple meters to the cliff edge and looked down into the crater. "Whoa!"

Pure Mako energy was spewing forth from the crater, up into the air. "An old crater..." Cloud mused. "Something fell out of the sky and crashed down here, leaving a scar on the Planet."

"Damn, this's somethin'," Cid agreed. "It's gathered up all that energy to try an' heal itself."

Harry's memory flashed. _Once the Planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the injury. The size of the injury determines the amount of energy gathered_ the words that Sephiroth spoke in the Temple of the Ancients before it shrunk down to Materia-size echoed in his head.

"Sephiroth is taking that energy and is trying to use Meteor..." Cloud muttered. "Next time, the wound won't be so small."

"Not that you can call this 'small,'" Harry shot back. "It's got to be several miles across. You really want to call this 'small'!?"

They clambered over the side of the cliff and slid down into the crater. Near the bottom, another black-cloaked figure collapses. "B...back to..Seph...i...roth..."

Ignoring him, Harry, Cloud, Tifa, and Cid walked on, reaching a misty passe. Huge black obelisks rose from the fog. "The time has come to settle things with Sephiroth, huh?" Tifa asked Cloud, who nodded. The bar tender turned away. "I, too, have lost many things because of Sephiroth..." She paused, then took a breath and nodded. "Let's go!"

Cloud looked up. "That's...!"

"Huh?" Harry blinked. Cid looked up and swore.

"Damn! It's the Highwind!"

* * *

Remus and Shacklebolt were talking quietly. "I've got to go. I've been here long enough, and there's nothing we can do but wait," the dark-skinned Auror remarked.

"Take care, Kingsley," Remus replied, nodding.

"It's the Shinra administration again," Hermione commented to Ron, Ginny, and Tonks. And indeed, Rufus, Scarlet, and Heidegger were standing looking out the window of the flying ship into the crater.

"So, I finally found you," Rufus declared softly.

"Kyaa haa hah!" Scarlet laughed. "Kyaa haa hah....This is incredible!"

"This is the Promised Land the President has been searching for!!" Heidegger agreed.

"But, I'll be the one who gets it," Rufus said. He looked up to the sky. "Sorry, old man."

The view shifted to show Hojo laughing to himself and Rude standing behind him. "Heh heh heh...That land is no one's," the scientist chuckled. He straighted and turned toward President Rufus. "It's where the Reunion will take place...They will all gather here...I wonder if I will see...Sephiroth?"

"He's bloody well lost it, that Hojo," Ron murmured. While Hermione swatted his head for the language, Ginny nodded in agreement.

Tonks yawned. "Ugh...I think we should start watching in shifts, allowing the rest to sleep. I'm knackered. Good night, all."

"Night Tonks," everyone called, all but Remus, who smiled and said, "Good night, Nymphadora."

* * *

I'm starting to hate these transition chapters.

Sirius: Can't you skip them?

Harry: No, not really. If he skipped them, people will wonder how the characters got to where they are.

Sirius: Right, I knew that.

*snort* Suuuure you did.

Sirius: I'm serious!

Harry: Of course you're Sirius, who else would you be?

Sirius: *groan*


	48. Truth and Lies

Tired...

Sirius: Didn't sleep well last night?

I've had better.

Harry: But you have Mountain Dew!

So I do, Harry. So I do.

* * *

The trek into the crater was trying. The few monsters they encountered were stronger than anything they had faced thus far; on the plus side, Harry supposed, defeating said beasts made _them_ grow stronger, faster. Harry was pleased to see that his Shiva and Elemental Materias had grown considerably, as had Steal; all three now shone brightly. He could also cast Esuna, transforming the nearly useless Heal Materia into a never-ending magical cure-all.

The four of them stood on a narrow path, watching two black-cloaks staggering forward, only to be knocked back by a wind gusting so hard it became visible. "We'll have to cross when the wind is calm, or we'll get blown away," Harry reasoned.

Crossing turned out to be fairly easy. On the other side, the path twisted back and forth on itself. Several black figures trudged along, collapsing or falling off the sides into the chasm below, one by one. Cloud, Cid, Tifa, and Harry chose their steps carefully as they followed along. Shortly, they reach a small plateau that was seemingly (but not really, according to logic) miles above the ground below. Standing in their way was Sephiroth.

"This is the end for all of you," the silver-haired swordsman declared, swinging his sword once and sending two nearby black-cloaked people to their deaths, one bouncing off a stone protrusion before disappearing into the green mist below.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud roared. "This is the end."

"You're right," Sephiroth agreed, surprising them. "This is the end...of this body's usefulness." The area darkened so much that Harry could barely see his hand before his face. There was a jet of purple smoke.

"He disappeared?" Cloud muttered.

"He might sill be near by..." Tifa cautioned.

"Right. Be careful, guys," Harry agreed, his right hand wrapped around the grip of Gryffindor's Sword.

A second jet of smoke joined the first. Then, suddenly, they heard Sephiroth's voice from somewhere around them. "Our purpose is to deliver the Black Materia to our master."

"Our...?" Harry heard Cloud murmur.

"Hey, hey! What's goin' on?" Cid cried, probably gripping his spear tightly.

Three jets of smoke. "Those who carry Jenova's cells..."

"Master!?" Cloud repeated. Four jets. "Ah, of course...Sephiroth."

The area suddenly and irrevocably brightened, with Sephiroth hovering above them, sword in hand. He descended on the party, knocking them to ground. He stood for a moment at the edge of a land bridge, his arms raised to the sky. Harry climbed to his feet beside Cloud, swords drawn. Sephiroth turned to face them, smirked, and disappeared to leave behind...

"Jenova? Again!? I'm getting tired of this..." Harry growled.

"It's been...a slightly different Jenova each time," Cloud explained. "On the Shinra ship, it was Jenova (Birth). In the City of the Ancients, it was Jenova (Life). You get the pattern?"

Harry ducked underneath a ray of possibly lethal light. "Yeah. This is Jenova (Death)?"

Cloud nodded. "Right. Let's take it down."

"Be glad to," Cid grunted as he pole-vaulted over them, slamming his spear (point first) through Jenova's torso. He pulled back, avoiding the spray of black-blue blood, and jumped away from a counter-attack. Harry ran in and Mugged the aberration, slashing with his sword and, while spinning along after his swing, reached out with his open left hand and pulled out a ring with the engraving of magic being reflected. He jumped back and grinned. "A Reflect Ring, huh? Not bad."

Tifa unleashed Thundaga, the most powerful Thunder spell in her arsenal (almost in existence - Harry remembered hearing that Trine, an spell accessible only by monsters unless you equip an E. Skill Materia, was stronger). The magical electricity coursed through Jenova's body, leaving it sizzling and a bit of smoke leaking off. Cloud swung his Buster Sword horizontally, drawing a deep gash in Jenova's torso, a half-foot underneath the stab wound Cid left. Harry followed up with Quakara, the second of the Quake series of spells, causing the ground to throw up rocks from beneath Jenova before swallowing them again. This sent the monstrosity flying through the air to land at Cid's feet, where he grinned coldly and stabbed his spear through what passed for Jenova's head.

"Headshot," he smirked.

The joke was lost on the others as Jenova's carcass faded from existence as Barret, Cait Sith, and Red XIII caught up with them. "Hey you lot," Harry greeted them with a smile. "Have a nice climb up the face of Mt. Freeze?"

"Coulda bin betta'," Barret replied.

Cloud spoke up, breaking the reunion. "Jenova's cells...Hmm...So, that's what this is all about...The Jenova Reunion."

Tifa tilted her head. "Not Sephiroth? You mean, all this time it wasn't Sephiroth we were after?"

Cloud shook his head. "I'll explain later. Right now, the only thing I'm thinking about is beating Sephiroth."

"But Sephiroth is..." Harry wondered aloud.

"He's here," Cloud declared. "The real Sephiroth is just beyond here." He shook his head sadly. "It's both incredibly wicked and cruel...but it's releasing a powerfully strong will from deep within this Planet's wound." He stepped over the left-over black mass from Jenova (Death) and picked it up. It was the Black Materia. "The Black Materia is back in our hands. Now, all we have to do is defeat Sephiroth and that'll be the end of it."

"We shouldn't take it with us, Cloud," Harry said, reminding the spiky blonde about his loss of control in the Temple of Ancients.

"Why don't you give it to someone else to hold on to?" Tifa agreed.

Cloud nodded, then turned to Red XII, holding the Black Materia out to him. "You want me to take the Black Materia?" Nanaki asked. He nodded. "All right, I understand."

"Don't give it to ANYONE," Cloud ordered. "I'm counting on you." He turned to Tifa and Harry. "Let's find Sephiroth!" He turned back to everyone else. "We're going in first. You guys stay and keep watch. Help keep the Black Materia safe."

So it was that Cloud, Harry, and Tifa who crossed the land bridge, dodging lightning strikes when rushing through the periods of calm from the vicious winds. They just stepped onto safe ground when everything went white. "What is this? What happened?" Tifa gasped.

"Calm down, Tifa," Cloud soothed the bartender. "Sephiroth is near. Anything could happen."

"Too right about that," Harry agreed. "Look!"

As the white light faded, they found themselves looking at the gates of Nibelheim.

"What the hell? Why Nibelheim?" Cloud growled. He shook his head sadly. "This...This has to be an illusion Sephiroth made up. He's trying to confuse us. It'll be all right. As long as we know it's an illusion, there's nothing to be afraid of. Come on, let's keep going."

Tifa nodded, calmed. "Yeah, you're right...Look!" She pointed at the entrance.

Sephiroth reached the gate as the trio scattered to make room. "All right, Let's go." He didn't appear to notice Cloud or Harry, whom he'd walked right past. Sephiroth was followed by two guards and a young man with black, spiky hair in a style similar to Cloud's, and a familiar huge sword on his back.

"Where's Cloud?" Harry whispered.

Tifa looked ashen. "Stop...Sephiroth."

Cloud shrugged. "This is so stupid..."

Sephiroth began to laugh, covering his mouth in mirth, when the area was flashed with bright white light, swallowing Sephiroth, the guards, and the black haired man. Harry turned to Cloud. "Hey, Cloud. Let's get back to the real world, eh?"

Tifa nodded. "Cloud...It's just an illusion. Don't worry about it." Harry privately thought that Tifa didn't really believe what she was saying, but he put it out of his mind.

"What's next?" Cloud asked hesitantly as the sound of rushing wind grew to a roar in their ears.

"Stop it already!" Tifa protested, clapping her hands to her ears.

"This is pretty bad," Harry winced. As the light faded again, they were standing in the well's courtyard in Nibelheim. Though they couldn't feel the heat from the flames, everything in town, save Shinra's Mansion, was on fire and burning to the ground.

"This is what actually happened five years ago," Cloud realized. "But...It's probably not going to be me that's going to come out of the Shinra mansion. He's going to try and show us another stupid illusion." As he spoke, the black-haired man from before rushed out of the mansion. "See...Didn't I tell you?"

"You want to cash in your 'I told you so!' now or later, Cloud?" Harry quipped.

The black-haired man approached them. The old man in a red cape - Zangan, Harry remembered, who was Tifa's martial arts instructor - called out to him. "Hey! It's you! You're still sane, right?" The ebony-haired youth nodded. "Then come over here and help me!"

"I don't want to...watch this. Cloud...don't watch," Tifa whimpered.

The black-haired young man turned in place slowly, staring at the burning houses. He shook his head sadly. "I'll check the inn," Zangan volunteered. "You check that one over there!" he pointed at the crumbling remains of Cloud's house.

"What's wrong, Tifa?" Cloud asked. "I told you before, right? As long as we know it's just an illusion, there's no need to be scared."

There was a flash of white light again. The town was still aflame. Harry stood next to a Shinra guard with his helmet still on. He knelt down. "Hey you! You all right?" When the guard didn't respond, he turned his head around to Cloud. "No response. Maybe...this really is just...all made up?"

"Sephiroth!" Cloud beckoned. "I know you're listening! I know what you're trying to say!" He shook his head. "That I wasn't in Nibelheim five years ago. That's it, isn't it?"

A blink of white light, a gong of a church bell, and Sephiroth materialized before them. "I see you finally understand," he replied.

"What you are trying to say is that you want to confuse me, right?" Cloud shrugged. "But...even making me see those things won't affect me. I remember it all. The heat of the fire...the pain in my body...and in my heart!"

"That's...kinda corny," Harry mused.

Sephiroth shook his head grimly. "Oh, is that so? You are just a puppet...you have no heart...and cannot feel any pain...How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being? What I have shown you is reality. What you remember...that, is the illusion."

Cloud shook his head, standing up to Sephiroth. "Do you understand?" the silver-haired man asked.

"I don't want to understand," Cloud replied, turning away. "But, I want to ask you one thing. Why...why are you doing this?"

A small flash of light. Sephiroth reappeared in front of Cloud, between Harry and Tifa, his arms raised. Tifa and Harry jumped back, standing beside Cloud. "Ha ha ha...I want to take you back to your real self," Sephiroth explained. "The one who gave me the Black Materia that day...Who would have ever thought a failed experiment would prove so useful? Hojo would die if he knew."

"Hojo?" Harry repeated. "What does he have to do with this?"

"Five years ago," Sephiroth began, lowering his arms. "Cloud was...constructed by Hojo, piece by piece, right after Nibelheim was burnt. A puppet made up of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge, and the power of Mako. An incomplete Sephiroth-clone. Not even given a number...That is your reality."

Tifa's ashen skin paled a little more. "Cloud...Don't listen to him...Close your ears! Close your eyes!"

"What's wrong, Tifa?" Cloud asked. "I'm not affected by it. I wasn't paying attention to him."

"All that talk of Hojo constructing you is a lie," Tifa declared. "Don't we have our memories together? Being kids together, starlit nights..."

Sephiroth cocked his head at her, chuckling. "Tifa...why are you so worried and scared by those words? Hmm...Shall I show everyone here what's in your heart?" The bartender turned away silently. Sephiroth laughed again. "You look like you're not feeling well."

The silver-haired man disappeared as Cloud and Harry turned towards Tifa. "Tifa...? Is Sephiroth right?" Cloud asked gently.

"Cloud..."

"Why are you so scared? Don't worry about me. I'm all right," Cloud reassured her. "No matter how confused I am, I'll never believe a word that Sephiroth says." He looked at the ground. "It's true that sometimes I can't figure out who I am. There's a lot of things muddled up in my memories. But, Tifa...But you said, 'Long time no see, Cloud,' right? Those words will always support me. I am the one you grew up with. I'm Cloud of Nibelheim. No matter how much I lose faith in myself, that is the truth." He glanced up at Tifa. "That's why you shouldn't be so scared. No matter what anyone else says to me, it's your attitude that counts."

Tifa turned back toward Cloud, shaking her head. "No, that's not true, Cloud..."

"What's not?" Cloud asked, shaking his head sadly. "Aren't I the same Cloud you grew up with?"

"That's not what I meant...I don't know how to say it..."

"Tell it like it is, Tifa," Harry told her. "Dancing around the subject is irritating."

Tifa sighed. "Cloud, I need some time...Just give me a little time..."

The area was bathed in white light again, and when it faded, Sephiroth was standing on the stairs down to the courtyard of Nibelheim. All but Tifa turned to face him. "Cloud, don't blame Tifa. The ability to change one's looks, voice, and words, is the power of Jenova. Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa's memories, creating you. Out of Tifa's memory...A boy named Cloud might've just been a part of them."

"'The ability to change one's looks, voice, and words...'" Harry mused. "Apparently, he doesn't know Tonks."

A flash of light, and Sephiroth vanished. Tifa turned to Cloud, gripping his arm tightly. "Cloud...Please...don't think right now."

Sephiroth reappeared behind them in a flash of light."Ha, ha, ha...Think, Cloud! Cloud? Ha, ha, ha...Oh, excuse me. You never had a name."

"Shut up...Sephiroth," Cloud growled, gripping his massive sword his his free hand.

Sephiroth shook his head. "You still don't understand? Then..." He began to laugh, then waved a dismissive gesture and faced Cloud. "Do you remember the picture that we took before we headed for Mt. Nibel?" He glanced at Tifa. "Tifa, you remember right?" He focused his gaze on Cloud again. "But, there is no way he would know." Cloud shrugged as Sephiroth shook his head. "Now, what happened to that picture?" He pretended to look around, then he..._skipped_ over to the dead man lying in front of the still-burning inn. Around the man's neck was a camera. "Is this it?" Sephiroth knelt down and pulled something out of his pocket, before standing and holding it out to Cloud. "Do you want to see it? It turned out pretty good, even after getting singed."

"Cloud, don't..." Tifa whispered. Harry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I...should be in the picture," Cloud nodded towards her. "Even if I'm not in there, no worry. This is just an illusory world Sephiroth made up."

_Is it?_ Harry thought. He didn't care for what he was thinking, but after the war with Riddle, he had learned not to dismiss anything out-of-hand.

"Just as I thought," Cloud mused, grinning wryly. "This picture's a fake. The truth is in my memory...Five years ago, I came back to Nibelheim, to inspect the reactor. I was sixteen. There was two guards going into town with me and Sephiroth, while a third stayed with the truck. The town hadn't changed at all. What did I do? Oh yeah..." He nodded. "Yeah, I went to Tifa's home, to see her. There I....I remember playing the piano a little, before heading next door to see Mom. I spent the night at the Inn and went to the reactor in Mt. Nibel the next morning. I was excited about it, because it was my first mission after becoming First Class in SOLDIER." There was a flash of light and Sephiroth disappeared. Cloud shook his head.

"SOLDIER, First Class?" He looked confused. "SOLDIER? When did I enter SOLDIER?" He clutched his head, trembling. "How did I join SOLDIER?" He fell to his knees. "Why...why can't I remember?" He rose to one knee. "I'm...I'm..." He stood. "That's right." He nodded. "I didn't have to worry about it, because I was..." The burning town faded from view, revealing the rocky, narrow path they stood upon.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"Let's go, Tifa. I'm...I'm all right," Cloud beckoned.

* * *

You know, I wasn't expecting this chapter to be this long.

Sirius: Another transition chapter?

Not as such. Remember, this contained that long sequence with ol' Sephy.

Harry: Yeah.

Sephiroth: I resent that remark.

*Cor scratches his head in puzzlement* I've got to figure out how everyone keeps getting in here.

Sephiroth:*Pointing at a hole in the wall* I came in through there.

Sirius:*inspecting the hole* You mean you cut your way in through here.

Sephiroth:*shrugs* Whatever swings your sword.


	49. Escape from the Northern Crater

I wanna read some more. Why does break have to be so short?

Siris and Harry: Get to work!

Alright already! Geez...The things I put up with...

* * *

Ron had eventaully succumbed to the vestiges of sleep. Surprisingly enough, so had Hermione, who at the moment was curled up on her side on the couch, her head resting on Ron's thigh. Ginny was awake enough to share a smirk with Remus, who was currenlty sipping a very bitter brand of tea in an effort to remain awake until the two on the couch woke up for their shift in front of the television. Tonks ambled in, only half-awake.

"I thought you were sleeping, Tonks?" Ginny asked, stirring a bit closer to full wakefulness.

"I was...but then my ears began to burn," the metemorph complained. "So, who was talking about me?"

Remus chuckled. "Harry mentioned something about changing one's appearance, and that that Sephiroth bloke apparently didn't know you."

Tonks smiled sleepily and collapsed onto the couch on the side of Ron opposite Hermione. "All right then." And before they could react, she had fallen back asleep, her head on Ron's shoulder.

Ginny smiled mischeviously at Remus. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Remus pulled out a wizarding camera. "I think so, yes. You want to take the pictures?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, I want to be the one to move them into embarrassing positions."

"This'll have to wait, Ginny," Remus motioned toward the TV. "Look."

Red XIII, Barret, Cait Sith, and Cid were standing around on the plateau, obviously waiting for Cloud, Harry, and Tifa to return with news of Sephiroth's defeat. "I wonder how Cloud and the others are..." Nanaki mused aloud. "It's hard to belive...such a small piece of Materia is able to destroy the Planet," he remarked, motioning his head down at the small black orb nestled between his forelegs against his chest.

Before his companions could respond, the entire area went dark, and Red XIII was left hoving over the winds below. He looked around. "What the!?" He looked again. "Is everyone all right?" He slipped the Black Materia into the Materia pouch hanging from his headdress before jumping up into a combat stance. "What's going on? Where am I!? Don't leave me alone!"

Tifa came running from somewhere in the wind. "Red XIII! You're here! I'm so glad!"

The land bridge came into view again; when it did, Barret, Cid, and Cait Sith were gone. Red XIII looked around. "Tifa! Something is strange...Why was it dark all of a sudden? And where is everybody?"

"Everyone's waiting!" Tifa remarked. "Cloud's in trouble!"

"Off screen, a text box appeared with the words "Please come. Help us!"

"Over there!" Tifa pointed, running in the direction of the plea for help.

Red nodded. "R-right! I'm not sure I udnerstand, but I'll go if you want me to." He took off toward the calls for help, passing Tifa by.

The bartender stopped and chuckled evilly. "Don't forget..." Her form flickered, then was replaced by Sephiroth. "...the Black Materia!" He vanished, and Barret, Cid, and Cait Sith reappeared, flat out on the ground. They sat up slowly, rubbing their heads.

"That's not good," Ginny whispered.

"No. No it's not," Remus agreed.

* * *

Harry's eyes were filled with a flash of light. When the light faded, he, Cloud, and Tifa were standing amongst Rufus, Scarlet, Heidegger, and Hojo of Shinra, in a crystal cave deep within the crater. "Hey, where did you come from!?" Scarlet shrieked.

"...Don't know..." Cloud muttered, his eyes glossy. He turned to Rufus, shaking his head. "This place is going to get rough. Better leave things to me and get out of here while you still can!"

Rufus flipped his hair back. "Leave things to you? Hmph! I don't know what you mean."

Cloud turned away. "This is where the Reunion is happening. Where everything begins and ends."

Red XIII ran in. "I'm here to help you, Cloud!"

Cloud stood still for a long moment, then held his head. He took a few steps toward the lion-like creature, and stopped. Eventually he stood before Nanaki. "Thanks...Red XIII. Where's the Black Materia?"

Tifa appeared to call Cloud's name, but no sound was coming from her lips. Harry shook his head. _Was she silenced?_ He cast Esuna on her, but still no sound escaped. _Huh._

"It's safe," Red XIII replied. "I'm holding onto it."

Cloud looked down. "I'll take it from here. Give me the...Black Materia."

Harry's eyes widened. "Don't do it, Nanaki! He's not himself!"

"Are you all right, Cloud?" Red asked, not hearing Harry. Cloud nodded.

_NOT GOOD!_ Harry thought wildly.

"Then, here you go," Red said, pullling the Black Materia out of his bag. "I was little apprehesnive holding this thing."

Cloud took the Black Materia. "Thanks...Leave the rest to me."

There a pause, then a flash of white light. Harry shook his head; when his vision cleared, Cloud stood in the center of the room. "Everyone, thanks for everything. And...I'm sorry." He glanced at Rufus and Harry. "...Sorry." He faced Red XIII. "...Sorry." He turned to Tifa. "Especially you, Tifa. I'm really sorry. You've been good to me...I don't know what to say." He shook his head. "I never lived up to being 'Cloud.' Tifa...Maybe one day...you'll meet the real 'Cloud.'"

_But you..._ Harry's thoughts terminated themselves when Hojo began to laugh as Tifa sank to the ground, crying. Harry walked over and laid his hands on her shoulders, offering silent comfort.

"This is perfect!!!" Hojo cackled. "It means that my experiment was a complete success!" He turned to Cloud. "What number were you? Huh? Where is your tattoo?"

Cloud shook his head sadly. "Professor Hojo...I don't have a number. You didn't give me one because...I was a failed experiment."

Hojo turned away in shock. "What the...? You mean only a failure made it here?"

Cloud pleaded, "Professor...Please give me a number.."

"Shut up, miserable failure!" Hojo bellowed, spinning back around.

Cloud slumped down. Harry shook his head and walked over to him to take back the Black Materia before Sephiroth took it from him, but before he could reach him, Cloud rose up into the air, spinning. "Who...was that?" Rufus asked.

"He's a Sephiroth-clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago," Hojo explained. "Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and skills, have been combined with science and nature to bring him to life." He shook his head. "I'm not wild about the failure part, but the Jenova Reunion Theory has now been proven. You see, even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by Jenova's Reunion." He sighed, pausing for breath. "I have been waiting for the Reunion to start. Five years have passed, and now the Clones have begun to return.

"I thought clones would begin to gather Midgar where Jenova is stored. But my predictions were not entirely correct. Jenovia itself began to move away from the Shinra Building. But, being the genius that I am, I soon figured it out. You see, it was Sephiroth's doing. He is not just content to diffuse his will into the Lifestream; he wants to manipulate the Clones himself." He paused again. "I wondered where the clones were going, but I was never able to figure it out."

_Some genius,_ Harry grimaced.

"The one thing that I did know was that Sephiroth was at their final destinations," Hojo concluded.

Harry suddenly felt Cloud's presence. "I wasn't pursuing Sephiroth." A shake of the head? "I was being summoned by Sephiroth. All the anger and hatred I bore him made it impossible for me to ever forget him. That, and what he gave me." Standing up? Upside down? Harry looked up and saw Cloud's spiky blonde hair among branches and roots. "Sephiroth? Sephiroth? I'm here. And I have brought you the Black Materia. Show yourself to me. Where are you?"

The presence left Harry's mind. "What was that...?" he whispered, confused. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. He looked up at Cloud. There was a rumbling sound as a crystalline object fell, coming to a suspended halt right in front of Cloud. Inside, Sephiroth was sleeping, perfectly preserved. The entire room began to shake violently.

"Did you see it!? It's Sephiroth! So he IS here!" Hojo cried in delight. Everyone looked at him. "This is perfect! Both Jenova's Reunion and Sephiroth's will! They won't be diffused into the Lifestream, but gathered here!" he cackled.

Tifa looked up, shaking her head. "What are you so happy about, Professor? You know what this means, don't you? Cloud has the Black Materia!"

"Sephiroth is going to summon Meteor," Harry agreed. "Every single bloody person in the world is going to die!"

"Whatever I saw now is too little, too late," Rufus declared. "We must evacuate." Harry and Tifa looked at the President. "I want you all to come with me. There is still much more I want to hear."

Red XIII looked up where Cloud appeared to be preparing to hand over the Black Materia to Sephiroth. "Cloud, NO! Stop! Please!"

"Cloud!" Tifa called.

Cloud shook his head, then the hand holding the small, black orb stretched out, pushing the Black Materia into the crystalline caccoon. As they watched, the Black Materia fused with Sephiroth's body, which then began to spark with energy. The tree and the stone both crumble to the ground, causing everyone to flee onto the airship, where they joined Cid, Cait Sith, and Barret on the observation deck. The airship lifted off quickly and rocketed up into the air as beams of light and energy shoot out of the crater. Massive creatures of metal and magic rose from the crater, dwarfing the airship as one released a beam of pure energy from its maw. The energy created a barrier around the crater as all five of the creatures flew off across the Planet. The backlash crashed into the ship, and the last thing Harry saw before he collapsed into unconsciousness, was Barret catching Tifa's similarly comatose form.

* * *

Fun, eh?

Harry: No.

Sirius: Hey, you are the hero, Harry. You'll be fine. Up and about in no time!

No doubt about that. He'll wake up at the same time as Tifa.

Harry: Why was I knocked out alongside her, anyway?

Tifa: I'd like to know, too.

Well...*crosses his arms in thought* I'm not sure of the specifics, but Tifa was knocked out because of her connection with Cloud. *Tifa blushes* Harry, simply because he's a wizard like Sirius here, is naturally more sensitive and aware of magical energy. The backlash from the creation of the barrier tripped his sense of magic, knocking him out. It's rather similar to concussion waves that emanate from explosions.

Sirius:*mouth hanging open*

Hermione:*sighs* Those are shockwaves, Cor. Not concussion waves.

There's a difference?

Hermione:*blink* Well, I suppose there's not a _big_ difference, but it is there. Anyway, Sirius, when an explosion occurs, there is a sudden increase in volume as energy is released in a violent manner. This usually generates a rapid increase in temperature as well.

Remus: Explosions cause the relase of pressure waves in the local medium in which they occurred. There are two classifications of these waves: deflagerations, when the waves are subsonic, and detonations, when the waves are supersonic, or shockwaves.

Tifa:*rubs her head* Is it just me, or is anyone else scared to know that these two know so much about explosions and stuff?

*Cor shrugs* I looked it up on an Internet encyclopedia as to what, exactly, an explosion is.

Harry: And in the case of Hermione, well, she just simply reads. A lot.

Sirius: While Remus voluntarily consumes all manner of dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Hermione and Remus: Hey!


	50. Dark Sun

Sirius: Three chapters today, huh?

Yeah? Is there a problem?

Harry: Only that you seem to be getting tired.

I would like to just sit and read right now...

* * *

The first thing Tonks heard as she rose from her slumber was the click and flash of a camera. Her eyes shot open and she jumped away, reaching for her wand, but she hadn't counted on being wrapped up in arms and legs between Ron and Hermione. As a result, when she leapt up, she brought both teenagers crashing to the floor with her, causing Remus and Ginny to erupt in laughter. Naturally, being dragged to the floor in such a violent manner woke Ron and Hermione up. Once they realized the position they were in, they blushed and literally _scampered_ apart, causing more laughter from the pranksters.

Tonks, glaring at the two laughing prats over her flushed face, waved her wand threateningly. "Hand over that camera, Remus, or you'll be sleeping on the couch for the next month!"

Remus promptly stopped laughing and reached out with the camera. Ginny swiped it from his hand. "I don't think so. The pictures we took are too valuable to let them be destroyed," she smirked mischeviously. "Anyway, I have to get some sleep before heading in for my shift at WWW. I'm sure-"

Ron interrupted her. "GIVE US THAT CAMERA!" he bellowed, pulling his wand and preparing to _Accio_ the thing. Ginny jumped and flew out the room, Ron giving chase and casting low-level hexes in an attempt to trip her up so he could get the camera.

Remus smiled sheepishly at Tonks. "I believe that leaves me off the hook of that threat, Nymphadora."

"You'll still be the couch for a week, Remus John Lupin," Tonks growled. Remus pouted and gave her Sirius' patented look - the puppy dog eyes. Tonks stoically ignored him by turning to the television. The screen was black; all that could be seen was a tiny Cloud, floating in space.

"Cloud...Cloud..." Tifa's voice popped up in a blue text box. The tiny Cloud stood up and ran off into the blackness; Tifa ran onto the screen before chasing him into the ether.

"I didn't know what else to do..." Tifa whispered, almost brokenly. "I was always like that..."

The scene faded in to show the Sector Seven train station. It was raining and Cloud, his sword across his lap, was slumped on the stairway to the train platform. The train conductor was looking down at him as Tifa entered. "What's the matter?"

The screen flashed electric white. "Ohhh..." Cloud moaned.

"Poor kid," the conductor grunted.

As the conductor left, Cloud moaned again, and Tifa ran up to the blonde and gathered his limp form into her arms. "Are you all right?" she asked. She tried to lift him up as the screen flashed again.

"Uh...uh...Tifa...?" Cload groaned. He blinked as the screen flashed again. "Tifa...?" He stood up, gently disentangling himself from Tifa's grasp. "Tifa!"

The bartender was silent at first, gently brushing his face. "Oh, Cloud!"

Cloud raised his sowrd into an offensive posture. "That's right. I'm Cloud."

"Is it really you, Cloud?" Tifa asked. "I never thought I'd find you here!"

"Yeah, it's been a while," Cloud agreed, attaching his sword to his back.

"What happened to you?" Tifa inquired. "You don't look well."

"Yeah? It's nothing, I'm okay," the blonde reassured. The screen flashed again; Tifa was looking the other way, and thus didn't see as Cloud clutched his head and shook for a brief moment. Tifa turned back around. "How long has it been?"

The screen flashed three times as Cloud grabbed his head in pain, but Tifa seemed not to notice. "Five years," Cloud finally answered. When Tifa didn't respond, Cloud looked concerned. "What is it?"

"...It's really been a long time," Tifa whispered. The screen darkened, but the scene did not disappear. Tifa's voice overlaid the darkness. "Actually, it's been seven years. You got your wish and joined SOLDIER, quit after the Sephiroth incident, and now you're a mercenary...You told me a lot about what happened after you left Nibelheim...But...Something was wrong. I felt there was something strange about the things you talked about. All the things you didn't know that you should. And other things that you shouldn't know that you did. I wanted to make sure...But then I heard...you were going far away..." The screen finally faded to complete blackness. "I...And I didn't want that. I didn't know what to do. So, I thought I needed more time. And that's why I told you about the AVALANCHE job. I wanted to be with you, to watch you." The screen went white, and the sound of the Planet screaming came through over the television's speakers.

Hermione drew in a shuddered breath. "So...Cloud...has been living a lie?"

Remus shook his head slowly. "I don't think he realizes that his memories of the past five or seven years are the truth of what happened..."

Tonks closed her eyes. "He sure is messed up, isn't he?"

* * *

Harry opened his eyes and sat up. He was in what looked like an medical infirmary with a series of windows overlooking the sea behind him. Barret was sitting next to him, and on the other side, Tifa lay, still asleep. "Ugh...how long were we out?" Harry asked.

Barret, who was facing Tifa, jumped and whirled around - a feat that Harry thought was near impossible for someone of Barret's size. "You're up, kid."

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

"Ding..."

"Huh?" Both Barret and Harry looked at Tifa.

"The glare..." Tifa moaned.

"You'll be better soon. You've been asleep for a long time," Barret replied.

Harry felt his stomach grumble, roaring for something to eat. "I'm hungry."

Barret chuckled as he got up and set a plate of sandwiches for the both of them. Harry and Tifa dug in as Barret said, "Hey, why don't you ask? About him, I mean."

Tifa swallowed. "Because...I'm scared."

Barret nodded in understand. "Don't worry. I don't know what happened to Cloud either." He scratched his head. "Guess I shouldn't tell you not to worry. None of them know if he's all right or not."

"He's still...alive, right?" Tifa breathed. Barret nodded. "How long...was I asleep?"

"I asked that same question," Harry agreed, "but I still haven't received an answer."

"Lessee now..." Barret thought. "Must've been about seven days now."

"What about Sephiroth?" Tifa asked.

"You ain't heard it yet. Remember that huge light, in the Northern Cave?" Barret replied. Tifa swung her legs over as she sat up. "Since then, the crater's been surrounded by a huge barrier of light. Everyone knows Sephiroth sleeps in that big hole, protected by the barrier. We can't do a damn thing about it. We just gotta wait till he wakes up." Barret faced the wall. "And on topa that, some huge monster called Weapon's been on a rampage."

"Weapon?" Harry asked, mimicking Tifa's posture.

"Remember that huge monster that was made with Sephiroth, at the bottom of the crater?" Barret responded, turning back towards them. "Well, it's up here now. They say it's some legendary monster from the past."

"Weapon...is protecting Sephiroth?" Tifa wondered aloud.

Barret shook his head. "Dunno. But he's up here goin' around tearin' shit up. Righ' now Rufus' fightin' it. I hate to say it, but he's got guts." He turned and began to walk away. Tifa and Harry hopped off their beds to follow. "We shoulda been the ones to destroy it, but we ain't go no time..."

"Time..." Harry mused. "Hey! What about Meteor?"

Barret didn't say anything. Instead, he walked over to the window and pressed a button. The shades open up. Outside, a large, red ball floated in the sky, glowing like some sort of dark sun.

"Wow..." Harry breathed, nearly pressing his nose against the glass. "Is that Meteor?"

"Do we have to give up?" Tifa asked.

"Dunno," Barret replied.

With a hiss, the door to the room slid open. Harry turned as President Rufus walked in. "I thought Cloud would show up to save you all...Professor Hojo wanted to check up on Cloud, too."

"What are you going to do to Cloud?" Tifa demanded.

"Sephiroth's alter ego..." Rufus smirked. He flipped his hair back. "Meteor has been summoned...Essentially, it's all but over now."

"So you're just giving up?" Harry taunted. "Some President you are."

Rufus' smirk grew. "There's no need for you now...No, maybe there is an important task for you."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Either you're going to make us confront Sephiroth and stop Meteor, which we intended to do anyway, or..."

Heidegger entered and saluted. "President! Preparations for the public execution are complete."

"That," Harry sighed.

Barret jumped. "Execution!? What're ya gonna get by executin' us?"

"You are to be executed for causing this situation," Rufus explained. "People are ignorant."

"True dat," Harry muttered, instinctively ducking Tifa's swat at his head.

"They'll feel better as long as someone is punished," the President continued, ignoring Harry's jibe.

Barret trembled with rage. "I take back what little praise I had for this damn jackass!" he roared.

"I hate politics," Harry groaned.

"Well, enjoy your last moments together," Rufus concluded, turning around and leaving.

"I'll tie your arms now," Heidegger remarked, placing handcuffs on Tifa and Harry's wrists, before looping rope around Barret's arms tightly, behind their backs. A guard came in, one for Harry and one for Tifa, and led them through the military base to their fate.

* * *

Harry: Bloody politicians.

Sorry, Harry, but you guys don't get a trial.

Sirius: Bloody politicians.

Barret: I'm gonna kill that rat bastard!

Right, Barret.


	51. Execution, DENIED!

Sirius: Not entirely sure why it took you two weeks to finish chapter fifty, but you're now done with it, right?

Yes, unless someone catches a mistake, or something. I doubt it, though.

Harry: Full of yourself, much?

No, just confident. I'm pretty darn good, if I do say so myself, but I'm not perfect. I usually catch my mistakes right after I make them, so I backspace and re-type it.

* * *

Harry, Tifa, and Barret were led into a large auditorium, with rows upon rows of seats available for guests and reporters to watch the event. A large round fellow sat in the front row - Harry quirked an eyebrow at him. _Why does he seem so familiar?_ His thoughts were cut off when Scarlet began to speak at the podium up front.

"Is everyone here?" she called. She glanced around the room and smiled sickeningly. "These are the ones who brought this madness into the world!" Several cameramen swung there cameras at them.

"The hell are these people?" Barret growled.

"Reporters. I take it our executions are going to be publicisized?" Harry grinned sardonically.

"So there is an intelligent one in your pathetic little terrorist group," Scarlet mocked. "Yes, we will be broadcasting your miserable deaths on national television."

"I'm sure it will be greatly entertaining," Harry smirked. "It'll be even more so when we escape."

"People do love drama," the large fellow agreed. He turned to the woman in the red cocktail dress. "Scarlet, why a public execution in this day and age?"

Scarlet stepped to the door that led into the gas chamber. "With the chaos resulting from the Meteor reports," the cameras shut off while the techs set one up inside the chamber, "we desparately need to rally public support...it's better that we punish somebody, anybody."

"Need to be seen doing _something,_" Harry remarked.

"You make me sick," Tifa grunted.

Scarlet laughed as the cameramen came back out, testing the feed from the gas chamber camera. "They'll never admit it, but everyone loves this stuff!" She settled down as the cameras came on, the broadcast beginning. "We'll start with this girl." Scarlet motioned toward Tifa.

Barret began to struggle against his bindings. "If you've gotta do it...do me first!" he roared.

"Camera, this way!" Scarlet waved forward. "Make sure you get this! The audience just eats up tearful goodbyes!" The nearest cameraman zoomed in a little on Barret's face.

"Arrg!"

Tifa and Harry were dragged into the chamber. They were forcefully shoved into the two chairs before their cuffs were removed. Their wrists were then clamped down into the chair's restraints, preventing their escape. "What are you doing!?" Tifa demanded.

"This is my special gas chamber," Scarlet cackled. "Take your time and enjoy a slow, painful death." She slapped Tifa across the face. "Stuck up bitch!" She turned to Harry.

Harry smirked. "Pathetic."

Scarlet's eyes widened, as did Tifa's. "What did you say, you little twerp!?"

"Come on, Scarlet," Harry drawled, with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "If you really think that this chamber will kill us, then you give the 'dumb blondes' of the world a bad name. In fact, calling you a 'dumb blonde' is an insult to 'dumb blondes' everywhere." Oh, yes, he was enjoying riling her up. Even after her palm smacked across his cheek.

Scarlet pulled out a small syringe. "This is a partial antidote, you arrogant little twit," she said. "It won't save you from the gas; in fact, it'll only slow it down, prolonging your death." She jabbed the needle straight into Harry's arm and shoved the plunger, enjoying the pain Harry allowed onto his face as the chemical was ruthlessly emptied into his veins. "Enjoy your one-way trip through hell." Scarlet ripped the syringe out and left in a huff. The guard, which smelled suspiciously like cigarette smoked, hesitated a moment, before _accidentally_ dropping a small, metal object at Tifa's feet and leaving.

"Cid..." Harry whispered, grinning at Tifa pointedly.

"When the gas starts pumping in, Harry, take a deep breath of air, as much as you can get, hold it for a few seconds, and let it out as slowly as you can," Tifa instructed. "Take a few deep breaths now, to open up your lungs a little, which will let you inhale more oxygen when the time comes."

Harry nodded. "Got it."

Scarlet's voice came out over an intercom. "Well now, the show's about to begin!" She laughed as the red power light on the camera in the chamber lit up. Suddenly, sirens began to shriek.

"Emergency! Emergency! Weapon's approachign! Attention all military personnel: take your positions!"

Sounds of panic came in over the intercom. Harry smirked at Tifa. "Right on time."

Tifa looked quizzically at Harry. "You knew Weapon was coming here?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but I was counting on him to show up. I bet you five hundred gil that we can escape this room during the battle, because Weapon blasts this base and unknowingly opens up the outer wall of this room."

Tifa grinned. "Five hundred gil says we escape because Barret and Cid open the door to let us out."

"You're on," Harry agreed. "I would shake hands to make it really official, but we're just a little tied down at the moment." Tifa giggled.

"Damn! Why now!?" Scarlet's voice cursed.

"How does it feel now, Scarlet?" a familiar voice came in over the intercom. _Cait Sith!?_ Harry thought, practicing deep breathing across from Tifa.

Scarlet seemed impressed. "Hmm, so you didn't run? I'm impressed. How do I feel? Right now...Ngaaaaaah!"

"Huh? Sleeping gas?" Barret asked, confused. There was sounds of combat, and some rounds were discharged from Barret's gun-arm (Harry briefly pictured the large man turning his back and looking over his shoulder to aim, which wasn't too far from the truth).

"I'm here to help!" Cait Sith announced.

"Why you...?" Barret gasped. "Ain't you part of Shinra?"

"Let's just say I'm against capital punishment. Besides, I hate this broad." The sound of Cait's foot kicking a body, followed by a feminine grunt, came out of the speaker. "Come on, we gotta help Tifa and Harry. I'll keep watch at the entrance."

The sound of Barret pulling on the door to open it, plus his swearing and cursing as he failed, made Harry grin. "It won't open!" AVALANCHE's leader finally growled.

The lights flickered as a massive **BOOM!** rocked the chamber, releasing the gas. "Now, Harry!" Tifa gasped. "Barret, help!" she called.

"Hold your breath! Hold on as long as you can!" Barret's panicking voice replied.

"Come on! We can't hold on forever!" Harry replied, taking a deep breath and holding it as Tifa instructed.

It sounded as though Barret jerked on the door a few more times before giving up. He pounded the door with his fist in anger. "Shit!" His footsteps ran away. "The Gas Room's probably locked from a different room!"

"Hmm, we gotta go with a different plan. Let's get out of this room first," Cait Sith replied.

"Tifa! Harry! I'll help you, I promise!" Barret cried at the intercom. From the sound of things, the door slammed shut behind them as they left the auditorium. Then, Scarlet's groggy voice cackled sleepily. "Fools. Now, you can't save the girl or the kid!"

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head exasperatedly. He nodded at Tifa, then at the key her feet. She nodded and stretched her legs out, grabbed the key between the toes of her boots (Harry stoically watched her face, so as to avoid peeking at her knickers. Such a gentleman was he!) Then, she brought them up as she leaned down, grabbed the key in her mouth. She turned it around before sticking the key's teeth out, before leaning down to unlock one hand. With her newly freed hand, she hurriedly unlocked her other hand when she saw Harry's face start to turn blue from holding his breath. She stood up and looked around, before slamming her fist on a button. The air vents came on, venting the gas out of the chamber. They both began to breathe heavily, refilling their lungs with precious oxygen. Tifa unlocked the restraints on Harry's chair, pulling him to his feet as he panted.

Harry grinned around his heavy breathing. "Thanks, Tifa. What say we get out of here?"

"Works for me," Tifa returned his smile before tugging on the door. "Grr! Open up you little..."

Whatever Tifa had been about to call the door, Harry would never know. A sudden explosion erupted outside, but close enough to the gas chamber than Harry and Tifa clapped their hands over their ears to muffle the sound somewhat. The tower shook violently as beams of pure energy ripped open the walls, one of which was the wall to the gas chamber. It was plenty wide enough for even Barret to crawl through comfortably. A second later, an explosion similar to the one that released the gas sounded again, with a much louder and more concussive **BOOM!** than the first. Harry had time to muse that the reason was because the outer wall had been breached before wincing at the sheer volume. Several seconds later, the sound of some massive object splashing into the ocean reached their ears around their hands.

Scarlet pounded on the door. "What d'you do? Hey! Open it!"

First you lock us in this weird place, and now you're telling us to come out?" Tifa asked.

"Make up your effin' mind, woman!" Harry shouted in agreement. He and Tifa chuckled before escaping through the rip in the wall. "I win the bet, Tifa," he added in a quieter voice.

"Talk later. Escape now," Tifa grinned, waving him forward. They nimbly climbed down the outer wall of the tower, using the damage to the building as foot- and hand-holds and ledges. Above, a couple of guards began to give chase, but one-by-one they lost their grip clumsily and plummeted past the duo to their deaths.

"Oh, wow," Harry paused, chuckling. "I didn't think anyone could be clumsier than Tonks!"

"Who?"

"Friend of mine back home."

* * *

"Hey!" Tonks cried indignantly, shaking her wand at the television's representation of Harry. She was oblivious to the sparks shooting from the tip of her wand, however. Remus and Ron were laughing openly, Ginny was quietly giggled, and Hermione was unsuccessfully attempting to contain _her_ giggling. Tonks scowled at them all.

* * *

"And she'd probably threaten me grevious bodily harm if she heard me say that," Harry chuckled as he followed Tifa onto the stable ground of a massive cannon barrel. They ran out to toward the end blindly, Harry checking his Materia and his weapon in a precautionary manner.

"Sounds like we would get along fine," Tifa panted lightly. They stopped at the end, with the only way out being, well, down into the ocean.

Scarlet's voice snarled. "Our little game of hide and seek ends here." The blonde woman, her face contorted in fury, stepped between them and the way they had come, trapping them. A single guard stood behind her. "The execution may have been unsuccessful, but your death by falling from here and crashing into the water below might be pretty exciting." She reached forward with a shocking speed and slapped Tifa. "Stuck up to the end!"

"You're one to talk," Harry replied suddenly.

Tifa rose up and slapped the blonde back. "Quit slapping me, you old wench!" Suddenly, the two women began a slap-fest, leaving Harry and the guard to stare at them in shock. Tifa, being a martial artist and the stronger of the two, slapped Scarlet several more times, then pulled back her gloved fist and socked the blonde, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"God! I can't stand it!" she cried. She waved at the guard. "Take her away!"

The guard stepped forward, but Harry whipped out Gryffindor's Sword (again, not a single one of their captors thought to take their weapons and Materia) and growled, "You should've called in sick today, bub."

"Now it's time to pay up," Scarlet cackled, standing up. "I'll really drop you if you don't settle down."

Several guards began to gather behind Scarlet. Harry sighed and tucked his sword back into his belt. He turned to Tifa and shrugged apologetically. "Well, I tried."

"It's the thought that counts, Harry," she quipped.

The sound of an airship's engines roared into being around them. Tifa and Harry looked up at saw a blimp-like ship come down in the air to a hover above them. A small, dark figure threw a rope over the deck's railing. The wind carried Barret's voice down to them. "Run! Run to the end of the Cannon!"

Harry turned to Tifa. "Ladies first," he cracked, waving her forward. Tifa smirked and ran and leapt, grabbing the rope as it swung by her. Harry turned and smirked at the stunned Scarlet and her equally-stunned guards. Harry touched the Earth Materia in his bracelet, and cast Quake2. As the cannon rumbled and rocked, they all but Harry fell off their feet. "Have a nice trip!" He turned and leapt into the air, reaching for the rope. "See you next faaaaaallll!" Harry briefly panicked as the wind swept the rope away from his hand, but Harry threw his hand forward again and caught the rope near the end of it. He snaked his arm around it and gripped it tightly as the airship pulled up and flew away. Barret began reeling them in.

Several terrifying minutes later, Harry was at last pulled to safety on the deck of the ship as it flew south. "You two okay?" Barret asked.

"My cheeks hurt a bit," Tifa admitted. "Forget about that, what's this all about?"

Cait Sith spoke up. "Well, I'll catch the details later. In any case, this Airship, the Highwind, is now yours."

They went below deck. "Dammit!" Barret growled at the stuffed cat. "Why didn't you tell me you could fly an airship!?" He shook his head. "I thought...they was gone for good."

"Sorry," Cait replied, not sounding apologetic at all. "But I had to do something to trick the enemy. Come on! Everyone is waiting!"

"Everyone? Everyone's here!?" Tifa gasped.

She and Harry ran up onto the bridge and were surrounded by their friends. Cid laughed openly. "Welcome to my airship - the Highwind!" Tifa walked forward and looked around, silent and somber. "What's wrong!? You should be more excited than that!"

Red took a break from greeting Harry personally to shake his head at the grizzled old pilot. "Cid..."

Cid rubbed his head. "Yeah..."

Tifa shook her head sadly. "Not enough crew."

"Well, it takes all kinds," Cid quipped.

"Tifa," Cait called. "I'll give you information on the Shinra. Ask me if there's anything you don't understand."

Red looked up at Harry. "Do you think we aren't strong enough without Cloud? Do you think we can't save the Planet alone?"

"I think we can do it," Harry replied immediately. His grin grew. "We're heroes, remember? Heroes always come up with a rock-solid plan in, like, five minutes, and save the world! Besides," he added, shrugging, "how do we know Cloud is dead? Has anyone actually seen his body? If there's no body, don't assume someone is dead."

"Meteor is coming, and Weapon is on the rampage," Tifa said softly, bringing a sudden quiet. "At a time like this, I don't know what I'm supposed to do..." She shook her head. "No idea at all..."

"Get a hold of yourself, Tifa!" Barret growled at her. "C'mon, let's think about this! No way we can get offa this train we're on!"

"...If only Cloud was here, everything would be fine," Tifa muttered. "Cloud would...Stand that cocky little way he did, and tell us what to do." She nodded. "He'd say, 'Everything's under control, Tifa.'"

Harry smirked at Red, who shook his head in exasperation. Harry strutted up to Tifa and tapped her shoulder. When she looked at him, Harry stood in Cloud's cocky little pose and said, "Everything's under control, Tifa."

Tifa giggled, while Barret shook his head. "Tifa...when'd you become such a wimp?"

The former bartender smiled sadly at Barret. "I'm sorry, Barret. I'm kind of shocked myself. I'm so depressed."

"And Tifa..." Red added, stepping forward. "The reason why we all thought it was Cloud was because..."

Tifa cut him off with a nod. "I know. That's why I want to make sure. That's why I have to see him again."

"I didn't dislike him," Cid grunted, taking a drag on his cigarette. "Gotta admit he was a strange dude. Just when you thought he was cool, he'd go and do some damn fool thing. And when you thought he was smart, he'd show how stupid he was." He rubbed his head thoughtfully. "Everying about him from his movements to his speech was kinda odd. Knowin' what I do now, I can see why he was that way. Well, as long as you stay alive, you just might see him again someday, so cheer up, sis." He chuckled.

Tifa nodded. "I'll be able to see him someday."

Cid agreed. "If we can find out where he is, the Highwind'll get us there in no time."

Red XIII looked thoughtful. "Maybe...Cloud is still stuck deep in the North Crater, where the ground cracked and swallowed him up. Buried in the depths of the underground..."

"Deep within the earth..." Harry mused. "Are you talking about the Lifestream, Red?"

Nanaki nodded. "The Lifestream sometimes gushes out to the surface from the cracks in the ocean floor. I heard that such a place exists." He sat on the stairs. "Maybe, just maybe, Cloud's -"

"Wahh! Captain Cid!" the pilot manning the ship's controls cried.

Cid glanced at Tifa. "Tifa, sorry, but I've gotta show this moron how to land the ship. Don't worry, it'll be done in a minute. Oh, and Tifa...No matter what your goal is, you've got to be prepared. Go to your room and get ready for our operation."

Barret grumbled. "What? Does Cloud always gotta be around? We did fine without him in the beginning? Right?" He peered at Tifa. "An' what happened to that tough girl I used to know? Where'd she go to?"

"I put a lot of things for the operation in your room," Cid concluded. "So go get them in order. My hands are full, so I'll excuse myself here!"

Harry looked around. His gaze landed on Barret, Cid, Tifa, and Red XIII. "Well...what now?" he asked.

* * *

Phew. That's a longer chapter than normal.

Sirius: Oh really?

Harry: Yes, really. Can we take a break now?

Sounds good to me!

Ron: Quidditch!

How did he get here?


	52. Finding Cloud

Ron: But what about Quidditch?

Ron, not everyone is as obsessed with Quidditch as you are.

Ron: Bollocks!

Hermione: It's true, Ron. Just look at me. If Quidditch dropped off the face of the earth, I couldn't care less.

Ron: *splutters*

*Cor looks around* Hey, where'd Sirius and Harry go?

Hermione: Sirius said something about pranks and Remus. As for Harry...

Ron: Harry ran off to get supplies from Fred and George.

Oh...

* * *

Cid landed the Highwind on the southern-most continent, not far from the sole town on the relatively small island. Tifa, Harry, and Barret disembarked and headed into town. They were greeted by an old man sitting in a chair by the gates.

"Ahoy! Hey, ain't you a beaut!" he called, speaking mainly to Tifa. "This here's Mideel. It's a quiet little Hot Springs town. Just the perfect place for old folks like me to live out our lives. I hear that things ain't so peaceful on the outside. But here, it's still nice and quiet."

The trio went into town. "Well, I'll go scrounge up some supplies," Barret volunteered.

"Harry and I will look at equipment and Materia," Tifa nodded. Harry shrugged.

"Alrigh'. Don't wonda too far off now, ya hear?"

So, Harry found himself gazing blankly at a row of the Crystal series of weapons. Gloves, swords, spears, and headdresses. There was even a Crystal gun-arm attachment. Harry frowned. "Wouldn't these break when you smashed them into some bloke's skull?" he asked.

"Nope!" The clerk explained in obvious excitement. "These weapons are carbon-poly steel alloy, and the edges are coated with a diamond-dust polish. I can personally garuantee their effectiveness and sturdiness!"

"Right," Harry said slowly, not believing a word out of the guy's mouth. "Let me see your Materia bangles."

"Right over here!" The clerk led him and Tifa, who was holding a pair of Crystal combat gloves, over to the opposite wall. "Six linked Materia slots at normal growth! Only four thousand eight hundred gil a piece!"

Tifa and Harry looked at each other. "Right..." They ended up purchasing one for Cid, Barret, Red, the two of them, and Cloud, and left the store after paying for everything.

They met up with Barret in the middle of the small town. A soft bark caught Tifa's attention while Harry was handing their purchases to Barret. She knelt down as a small dog came out and sniffed her hand. "What's the matter? Are you all alone?" she said softly in a high, talking-to-animals voice. The dog whimpered. She patted him on the head. "You got lost, didn't you? Separated from someone you love? Silly thing..."

The sound of two men talking reached their ears. Harry didn't pay too much attention until one of them said, "...guess it's been about a week now since he washed up here on the shore...Poor pokey-headed young thing."

"It was really sad," the other agreed, "but weird. He was holding this really big sword. I dunno, the whole thing feels unlucky to me. But the amazing thing was those weird blue eyes..."

"Wha...?" Harry whirled around and ran up to them, leaving a startled Barret and Tifa behind. "Er...excuse me! What did you say? That young person you were talking about?" he asked.

If the old men thought Harry was touched in the head, they didn't show it. "Yeah, a villager found him a little ways down the coast...it was about a week ago, I think," the first answered. "Yeah, poor kid...He must've drifted from somewhere pretty far away."

Harry turned to Tifa. "Could it be...Cloud?"

Barret straightened up as Tifa gasped. "You sure!?"

Tifa turned to the second man. "So where is he? Is he safe!? Where is he now!?"

"Geez, slow down, Tifa!" Harry said in alarm.

The man pointed up at a small building with a red cross on the front, above the door. "Yeah, up ahead there, At the, uh, clinic..."

Tifa breathed a sigh of relief. "He's alive! Cloud...Cloud's alive! Cloud!" She didn't wait for Harry and Barret as she took off toward the clinic.

"Uh...? Yo, Tifa!" Barret's call fell on deaf ears as he ran after her.

Harry sighed, then smiled softly at the men. "Thanks for telling us about Cloud. Uh...I think Tifa has had feelings for him for a long time, but she's never told him..."

"Ah, say no more, lad!" the old blokes chuckled. "We're getting on in years, but we can still remember being young and in love, once upon a time..."

Harry entered the clinic a minute later. "Here now, lass," a doctor said, holding an over-excited Tifa by the shoulder. "The way you're running around here, you'd think Meteor finally fell or something."

Tifa took a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, but I heard that a friend of mine was being taken care of here..."

The doctor crossed his arms. "A friend..." He nodded in understanding. "Oh yeah! That young fellow!? Don't worry, he's through that door." He pointed at a small, curtained off opening. "But I'm afraid his condition is-"

"Here?" Tifa cut him off, nodded. "Over here." She didn't wait for an explanation before entering the room. Harry went in after her.

A nurse was taking care of someone in a wheelchair, hidden behind her. "Cloud?" Tifa called. The nurse jumped up and turned to look at them, then smiled sadly and stepped aside. The person in the wheelchair was indeed Cloud. His head bobbed back and forth in a daze, his eyes glazed over. "Oh, Cloud!" Tifa cried. "I'm so glad you're safe!" She embraced him. Then she pulled back and took a good look at him. Harry could see her frowning from behind. "Cloud...?"

As Cloud continued to drool like a druggie, Tifa's worry shot up again. "Wha...what's wrong....? Cloud...?" She shook her head. "Cloud! What happened to you?"

"Tifa..." Harry put a hand on her shoulder, only to be shrugged away. The doctor stepped in, arms crossed.

"Mako poisoning," he explained. "Quite an advanced case. It appears this young man's been exposed to a high level of Mako energy for a protracted period of time. He probably has no idea who or where he is now..." He shook his head sadly. "Poor fellow, his voice doesn't even work. He is literally miles away from us. Some place far away where no one's ever been...all alone..."

"Doctor!" Tifa cried.

"Damn...that's pretty evil," Harry whispered.

"That's bad," Barret agreed.

Tifa knelt down. "Cloud..."

"Ahem! Let us excuse ourselves..." the doctor beckoned to the nurse and to Harry and Barret. "Listen, would you two mind...waiting outside?" Harry and Barret followed him outside.

"So, what about him? You know...Cloud?" Barret asked the doctor once they left the clinic.

The doctor crossed his arms thoughtfully. "I'll say it again, he's got Mako poisoning. I've never seen a case this bad..." He paused. "An immense amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was put into his brain all at once...No normal human could have survived it...It's a miracle he did!"

"No wonder...After falling into the Lifestream and washing up here," Harry mused.

"But remember, the light of hope can be found anywhere," the doctor remarked. "Listen! If you give up hope...What will happen to him?" He turned away.

"Hope..." Barret repeated. "Hey, but honestly, man...Do I really want him to come back?" He shook his head. "What did he do for this world? What can he do for us from here on out? He may be nothing more than Sephiroth's shadow fer all we know..."

"Barret!" Harry cried.

"Is something wrong?" the doctor asked.

"No, nothin'," Barret denied. "Nothin' at all, doc."

Tifa stepped out of the clinic, silent, with tear-tracks showing clearly on her face. "You okay?" Harry asked softly.

Tifa nodded slowly. "Yes...I'm sorry I had you all worried...And, I have something I want to tell you all..." She paused, taking a ragged breath. "I don't care about anything else, only Cloud..." She looked at Harry and Barret with a steady gaze. "I...want to be by his side..."

"Right," Harry nodded encouraginly. "Hang in there, Tifa."

"Yeah," Barret agreed. "That's probably best. For Cloud...an' for you."

Tifa looked down at the floor nervously. "I'm sorry, everyone...At a time like this.."

"Don't worry about it," Harry cut her off. "We'll stop by sometime to check up on you and Cloud."

"You take care now, Tifa. And take care of Cloud," Barret added.

Tifa nodded. "Right..."

Barret turned to leave, but looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, and uh, Tifa...I don't like askin' this but...Is he really your childhood firend? And not Sephiroth's shadow?"

Tifa glanced back at the clinic in surprise. "Huh!? Well, that is..." she shook her head. "No, I'm sure of it!"

Barret nodded. "Yeah? Okay then...Sorry fer askin' that."

Harry sighed. "Now, we'll head back to the Highwind and let everyone know. Take it easy, Tifa." He cracked what was an attempt at a playful grin, and added, "I don't want to come back and find you so depressed that you start cutting yourself."

Tifa's short giggle was cut off by a single tear. "Right. Be careful, you guys."

* * *

Harry, Cait Sith, Barret, Cid, and Red XIII were gathered on the bridge of the Highwind. "Just us blokes, now," Harry mused softly with a sardonic grin.

"What're we gonna do now?" Barret asked. "What can _we_ do?" He turned and gazed out of the window as the Highwind soared above the sea. "Huh? Ain't there nothin' we can do? An' don' go tellin' us to wait for Cloud to get better!"

Cait Sith suddenly straightened up. "Oh, I've got some news!"

"Yeah, what? That you a spy!?" Barret growled.

"Yeah, I've already told you I was," Cait Sith remarked, ignoring Barret's jab. "Both Gya ha ha and Kya ha ha are up to something. Wanna eavesdrop?"

Cait's radio crackled to life. Rufus' voice spoke. "Now then, we're faced with two issues: One, destroy Meteor. Two, remove the barrier around the Northern Cave and defeat Sephiroth. Any ideas?"

"We've already solved the first problem!" Heidegger laughed. "Meteor will soon be smashed to bits! The paln has already been put in motion. Namely, to collect Huge Materia from each region."

"Well..." Rufus thought.

"Huge Materia is a high density, special type of Materia, made through a special compression process in Mako reactors," Scarlet explained. "The energy extracted from it is three hundred thiry times the strength of normal Materia." She cackled. "How about that? We will gather all the Huge Materia together and ram it into Meteor." She paused. "That will cause a huge explosion! Reducing Meteor literally into bits."

"You're going to ram them into Meteor?" Rufus questioned. "Do you think we have the technology to do it?"

"Don't worry about that!" Scarlet snapped. "More importantly, we've got to collect Huge Materia from each area."

"We've already collected Materia from Nibelheim," Heidegger announced. "All that's left is Corel and Fort Condor. I've already dispatched troops to Corel." With that, Cait Sith shut off the radio.

"Corel!" Barret exploded. "What else can they do to Corel!?"

"And the Huge Materia," Red XIII mused. "You mean the Huge Materia, don't you? I've heard about it. When our small Materia hears the larger one, something should happen. I'm certain of it. That's why we're using the power of Materia in our fight..."

"Can't let Shinra get hold of the Huge Materia," Harry nodded.

"Besides, when Cloud gets back, I wanna show him this Huge Materia," Barret agreed. "He's gonna be shocked."

"So what are you saying, Barret?" Cait Sith asked. "Even though you're always knocking him, you really want Cloud to return?"

"I ain't sayin' nothin' 'bout nothin'. You just...shut yer face!" Barret growled at the cat. "Every group's gotta have a leader." He thumped his chest. "An' that's me! Or, at least, I wanna be...But I ain't cut out to be no leader. I never knew that till lately." Cait hopped away in surprise.

Cid's soft snoring suddenly stopped as he stood up. "Wha? What's going on?"

Barret nodded. "You been chosen to be the new leader."

"Pain in the ass," Cid protested. "Forget it."

"But for us to fight, we gotta have the Highwind, and you," Barret countered. He swept his gun arm around the bridge. "We need it to save the Planet. An' who's runnin' this ship? You! That's why you're out new leader. Ain't no one else can."

Cid wasn't having any of it. "No. I might be the Captain of this ship, but I ain't no goddamn General! The kid would be a better leader than I would!"

Harry blinked. "What?"

Nanaki glanced at his closest friend in the group, grinning. "You know, Barret, Cid has a point. Harry does have a similar charisma to Cloud's. He would be a good leader while he's ill."

Harry shook his head. "Uh-huh. No way! I'm the least qualified for this. I'm not native to this world! I know the least about it!"

"Isn't that what advisors are for?" Cait Sith asked. "Red XIII can be your assistant."

"It would be fun," Nanaki agreed. "C'mon, Harry."

"I'll stand behind ya all the way," Cid encouraged. "And where I go, the Highwind goes, too!"

Barret grunted, "Yer a smart kid."

Harry looked at them all. "Bloody hell. Fine. Yeah, whatever. Follow me."

"Awright!" Barret nodded. "Now, here's the first job. The Operation Room's waiting for you. We'll meet you there."

As they filed out of the bridge and into the War Room, Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his noise. "This won't be good. I just know it."

* * *

Harry: *walks back in with Sirius* So, what'd I miss?

Hermione: You've been elected to lead in Cloud's absence.

Harry: *eyes widened* Oh bloody hell.

Sirius: Don't you mean, 'Oh holy hell'?

Ron: It's all you, mate!

Harry: This won't be good. I just know it.


	53. Runaway Train!

So Harry, up for some train-car hopping?

Harry: Huh?

You know, hopping from train-car to train-car while the trian itself is speeding down the tracks?

Sirius: What?

*sigh* Nevermind. On to the chapter.

* * *

Harry paced back and forth in the onboard War Room of the Highwind. He glanced at Barret, Cid, Cait Sith, and Red XIII. "All right, guys. Shinra's gathering the Huge Materia and will be attempting to destroy Meteor by slamming all the Huge Materia they can find through a rocket ship, which will probably be launched from Rocket Town. What should we do first?"

"Hmmn...the Huge Materia is at Corel and Fort Condor..." Cait Sith remarked aloud. "I'm sure there was another place that had it. Where was that...?"

"Harry," Red called, "let's visit Cloud and Tifa from time to time."

Harry nodded. "Of course, Red."

"Yo, Mr. Leader!" Barret beckoned. "Make up yer mind and le's go!"

"There are people guarding the reactor from the Shinra at Fort Condor," Harry mused. "They won't last forever, but they still have time. Corel, on the other hand, has no one protecting the Huge Materia at the reactor there. Let's go to Corel first, then swing by Fort Condor and lend them a hand."

"I'm on it," Cid declared. "The Highwind will have us there lickety-split!"

Up on the bridge, Cid proved his piloting skills by setting the airship down to a gentle landing just outside North Corel. Cait Sith volunteered to stay behind, not wanting to reveal that he was the one who led them there to stop the Shinra. "There's only four of us, then," Harry remarked. "Might as well all of us go. You reckon?"

Nanaki nodded. "Yeah. The four of us will stand a better chance of defeating the Shinra troops together, than sending only three of us."

As Barret walked into the town he had grown up in, the townspeople glanced at them and turned away. One little kid ran up to them, however, and began to babble excitedly. "Shinwa soldiers came awound sayin' they were gatherin' up all the Huge Materia. I think they're gonna bwing it here by the coal twain, from the Cowel Weactow!"

Harry knelt and smiled. "Thank you, kid. We'll take care of those mean ol' Shinra." The kid smiled happily and skipped off.

"Heh heh heh," Barret chuckled.

Harry frowned. "What?"

"Never woulda thought you'd like kids," he replied. "You're a lot like Cloud, kid."

Harry snorted. "Minus the split-personality, you mean?"

"Er...yeah, minus tha'."

The second trek down the tracks went much faster than it did the first time; probably, Harry mused as he ducked a cockatrice's peck before decapitating it with a half-moon overhead slice, because they were so much stronger now, as opposed to back then. They were even capable of dispatching the bomb monsters, notorious for exploding and greatly injuring travellers before they could kill it, before they could begin swelling up in preparation for their self-destuction without needing Harry to summon Shiva.

It wasn't long before they reached the Reactor. There were two Shinra guards at the entrance. "You guys are...!" was all one of them managed to get out before they were put down by Barret's gun-arm and Cid's spear.

"Guess we're safe for now," Cid remarked. There a train whistle, blowing loudly.

"Ohh!" Red gasped.

"Safe? What's that again, Cid?" Harry quipped, quirking a brow at the pilot and receiving a shrug in return.

"Da---mn!" Barret cursed. They scattered to avoid a train as it rumbled out of the reactor towards town.

"Looks like they're takin' off with the Huge Materia in that train!" Cid declared.

"NO! You damn boneheads!" Barret roared as the train began to pick up speed.

"We have to stop them!" Harry cried. He glanced back. "There's another train. Cid, you're the pilot here, can you drive it?"

"Hey, do you know who I am!?" Cid shot back. "I'm Cid - that's who the hell I am! Now just let me handle it!"

Harry nodded as they climbed aboard the train. "We're counting on you, Captain!" Cid grinned and kicked the engine lever, and shortly the train engine they were on quickly picked up speed. They caught up with the Shinra four-car train in a matter of minutes.

"How can they even drive this!?" Barret grumbled.

"Don't ask me, I don't know!" Cid cried.

"What!?" Red gasped.

"Don't worry! I can handle this kinda stuff! Two levers; one on the right and one on the left..." He flipped them, causing their train to pick up some more speed. "I see, just alternate the two levers up and down, right!? Judging from the enemy's speed, I'd say it'll take about ten minutes before they reach Corel. We're gonna fly! Hold on tight!" Cid began frantically flipping the levers. The engine groaned as it obeyed his commands, and soon, they were nose-to-caboose with the Shinra train. "All right! Jump!"

The four leapt foward, landing lightly on the last car. Now unmanned, the train they had borrowed slacked off, coming to a stop at a turn and tipped over, falling into the gorge below.

They found themselves confronted with a pair of Shinra soldiers on each of the three cars in front of them, a driver manning the controls, and a technosoldier machine on the next to last car. "Let's bust them up - and fast!" Barret cried, unleashing a torrent of gunfire that mowed down the Shinra troops. Red cast Firaga, leaving scorch marks on the technosoldier, while Cid pole-vaulted with his spear and drove the point through the machine's CPU. Harry jumped forward and confronted the driver.

"What the! You...you guys!" the Shinra soldier grunted, swinging wildly at Harry. Harry ducked and watched in amusement as the guard overbalanced and fell off. "Heh. You got guts, but tough ain't enough!" he chuckled.

"Got no time for that now!" Barret roared. Cid jumped down next to Harry.

"We got it going, but what about the brakes?" Nanaki shouted over the wind.

"I KNOW, already!" Cid protested. "Just shut up and keep quiet! If we keep this up, we'll crash right into North Corel!"

"If that happens..." Harry paled.

"I got it," Cid nodded. "If we alternately use the levers to accelerate, it should brake if we move the levers up or down simultaneously!" Cid set to work, flipping the levers.

"Hey, it's not working!" Barret cried. They were coming onto the bridge before town.

"We're _gaining_ speed!" Red shouted.

"FUCK! The other way!?" Cid swore. "Just watch, this time, I'll..." He moved both levers, and once again, the train gained more speed.

"Hey hey HEY!" Harry yelled.

"SHIIIIIIIIT!" Cid bellowed, jamming the levers up and down with such force that they snapped off. Cid shot a look at Harry and Barret, but it was cut short when there was a great screeching of brakes. Harry leaned out through a conductor's window and found the train finally, _blissfully_, slowing down. The train came to a screeching halt just inches before the gate to town. Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry plucked the Huge Materia from the engineer's compartment before hopping down after Barret, Cid, and Red XIII.

The welcome they received was considerably warmer than the one when they arrived. Considering they had just saved the town from being decimated a second time, Barret found the townspeople warming up to him again. "You sure are brave. I'm impressed!" "You guys are really something!" "Aren't you the ones that stopped the Shinra Train? The Shinra was just about to destroy our lives again...It might be full of junk, but this is the only home we got, Barret!"

Barret nodded brokenly, tears leaking from his eyes as he smiled. "Of...Of course! We're all born and raised in the coal mines! No matter how tough it gets, our hearts burn bright red like coal!"

Harry nodded. "Doing what is right, instead of what is easy."

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered hearing Harry's words. "To hell with Meteor! We're Coal Miners, ain't we? We'll dig a deep tunnel and hide from the Meteor! That's it!"

Harry frowned. "That's not exactly what I meant..." But he was ignored as the people cheered and set about to making plans. With a shrug, Harry led Barret, Cid, and Red XIII back to the Highwind.

Once onboard, Harry set the Huge Materia into an orb holder in the War Room. "That'll hold it for now, until we can find a more permanent place to keep them."

On the bridge, Cid brought the ship to life and took off. "Next stop, Fort Condor!"

* * *

Harry: I'm never doing that again.

Sirius: But Harry! You did a right bang-up job, you did!

*nods* _Sirius_ly, Harry. You could not have done much better.

Sirius: *groan* Did you have to make that old joke again?


	54. Holding Down the Fort

This will be an interesting chapter.

Harry: Why's that?

Because, the Fort Condor is usually a minigame type deal.

Sirius: Just set up some pranks of the lethal variety, Harry.

Harry: You mean traps?

He doesn't have his wand, remember, Sirius?

Sirius: Oh, right.

Harry: *morosely* Thanks for the reminder, you guys.

Cor and Sirius: Anytime, mate!

* * *

Harry whistled from the deck of the Highwind. "Wow. Look at that battalion!" he yelled over the rushing wind as he pointed down at the Shinra army.

"Those defending the Fort have the advantage," Nanaki remarked. "They didn't have to travel, so they won't be tired. It is also likely that they stockpiled supplies while the Shinra could only bring so much with them, trucks notwithstanding."

"The defenders probably know the terrain pretty well, too," Cait Sith chimed in.

Perched on top of the Fort Condor Reactor was a massive red and gold bird warming an egg. Harry quirked a brow at the resemblance to Fawkes. "So, that's what the defenders are protecting," he mused.

"Yes. The Shinra want the Huge Materia, that is the main objective," Red XIII agreed. "But forcing the bird to flee, or killing it, will be a secondary objective; if they can achieve with minimal casualties to their side, they will do so. But the Huge Materia is to be acquired at all costs."

Harry frowned. "Let's get down there and help in the defense."

Cid brought the Highwind to a landing a half mile from the Fort, opposite to the approaching Shinra army. Cid stayed behind on the Highwind with Cait Sith, saying, "If the Shinra gets the bright idea to storm my airship, I'll take off and get them a beating they won't forget any time soon!"

A doorman in a gray wife-beater and a green headband greeted them. "We've been fighting the Shinra for a long time at this battlefield. Even now, we're still settled in for a long war with them. If you aren't in a hurry, would you help us fight them? Listen, I don't want to push, but, if you've got something else to do, why don't you finish that first?"

"It's alright," Harry waved dismissively. "We're here to help."

"Really!?" the bloke seemed surprised. "Then go on up and they'll fill you in on the details." He ducked inside, leading the trio inside. He sealed the door behind them as Barret lugged Nanaki up the rope. Harry waited until Barret finished the climb before clambering up after him. The doorman led them to an older man sitting at a table.

The aged bloke studied them for a moment. "Hmm, now this is something. I never thought that anyone would climb up here." Harry bit back a retort on how he could expect anyone to climb up here with a bloke guarding the rope. "Any minute now, this will be a battlefield against Shinra. You'd better get down before you get involved."

Harry frowned. "I said we're here to help."

"Shinra? The hell those jackasses doing here?" Barret grumbled.

"Shinra again," Red XIII growled.

"It appears you have a problem with Shinra, too. After all, you climbed up here," the man concluded. "Why not listen to what I have to say for a moment?"

"Give us the four-one-one," Harry said agreeably.

"Do you know what's at the top of this mountain?" the man asked.

"Huh? Something's up there?" Barret grunted.

Harry nodded. "No matter how you look at it, that's a reactor. And on top of that...is that a Phoenix guarding an egg?"

"A Condor," the man corrected. "But yes. You're very perceptive. Yes, it's a reactor and a condor. Looks like there's a special Materia up in the reactor. Then came the condor, so Shinra has dispatched troops to get rid of it and take the Materia. They plan to remove the condor and the people on this mountain to obtain the Materia from the Mako Reactor.

"Unfortunately, we don't have the ability to fight the Shinra completely by ourselves. That's why we have hired soldiers to help us. As our sponsor you can help with a contribution, or by fighting alongside of us...What do you think? You want to join us in our fight?" the old man asked.

Harry glanced at Barret and Nanaki, who nodded. "All right, we'll fight alongside you and help out a little with the money side of things. But, in return, should we defeat the Shinra, we want the Huge Materia the Shinra are after."

The old man seemed surprise at Harry's answer, but once it sank in and he thought about it, he nodded. "We have a deal," he replied, offering his hand. Harry shook it.

While Red and Barret went into strategy planning sessions with the troops, Harry climbed up a rope ladder to speak with the field commander on the lookout station. "Shall I let you in our strategy? The enemy is targeting this mountain's reactor and will be climbing to reach it. We must set a trap and hire soldiers to protect the place."

Harry nodded. "Got it." He turned to a map of the mountainside and all the possible routes the Shinra could take in climbing up. He thought for a minute. "What kind of traps do we have?"

"Mostly boulder drops," the man answered. "We can drop three boulders down the mountainside on top of the Shinra, then reload and drop three more every thirty seconds or so. We have one fire bomb catapult, which will launch a bomb down onto the Shinra's heads and, upon impact, create a zone of fire for a few minutes, plus whatever catches on fire during that time."

Harry nodded once more, bringing up all of the Slytherin cunning the Sorting Hat saw in him to the fore. He grasped a pencil and marked several spots. "Place the boulder drops here. We don't want those rocks tumbling down on our own men. Since the fire bomb will be more devastating, but less efficient, place it here," he marked an 'F' mid-way up the map, "since it will have the range to lob the bombs safely over our troops and onto the Shinra." He scribbled 'S' in several more places. "If we station a number of troops at these areas, the Shinra will have no choice but to fight, and thanks to the choke-points, will only be able to come a few at time, while our soldiers camp out there and shoot them down with guns. If any enemy soldiers make it to melee range, a few more troops will be there with close-combat weaponry to stop them. Although, with the boulder drops that close to the bottom, the enemy may take the used rocks as cover."

The general seemed surprised and even impressed at Harry's assessment and strategy. "Kid, you're a god-send. Yes, we'll set those up right away. What should be done if any enemies make it past this first line?"

Harry thought for a moment as the general sent his orders down below to be carried out. "The bulk of the remaining troops will wait here," he tapped a small cliff two-thirds up the map. "By the time any Shinra gets there, they're likely to be dead tired, and either alone or in small groups of two or three, possibly four."

The general nodded. "This shed also serves as the entrance to the reactor, and thus the condor's nest. It must be protected at all costs."

"In that case, you're right, General," Harry agreed. "My friends and I will stay here with the last of the troops, ready to serve as a last line of defense." He paused. "No, Barret has a gun-arm. He would more useful closer to the front lines." He frowned thoughtfully, then tapped an out-of-the-way cliff edge that overlooked the vast majority of the mountainside. "He'll be there, picking off the Shinra with his gun-arm. For a machine gun, it's bloody accurate. Do we have any snipers? They'd be best there, as well."

"No snipers, but regular riflemen can easily snipe from that ledge as well," the general replied.

"That will probably be better on Barret's ears, anyway," Harry nodded in agreement. "All right. That's all I've got. Anything else will be on-the-fly, seat-of-my-pants luck."

"Yes, sir!" the general saluted, before climbing down to give the final marching orders. Harry grinned sardonically, mentally thanking Shacklebolt and Moody for those strategy sessions. He certainly wasn't no Ronald Weasley (to whom Harry still lost horribly at chess) but he could definitely formulate effective battle plans.

The traps were soon set up and the troops quickly deployed. Harry explained his strategy for Barret to the bear-like man, who nodded in approval. "I don't mind gettin' up close 'n' personal," Barret declared, "but this..." he trailed off, unable to find the right words.

"A more effective and efficient use of your particular skills, Barret?" Nanaki finished for him. The man nodded.

"Yeah. That." With that, Barret joined some of the riflers would be stationed with him under his command.

"Are we all ready, then?" the general asked.

Harry took a deep breath. "Yeah, we're ready."

"This is the deciding battle; the enemy numbers more than ever before," the general said.

"Our strategy will keep them from taking advantage of their superior numbers, then," Nanaki responded. He and Harry, along with a squad of about eighteen soldiers, including the general, stood waiting outside the shed, guarding the door. They could easily watch the battle from there, as well.

The Shinra came pouring up the mountainside in a wave, but the mountainside itself rebuffed them, forcing the enemy troops to climb up in near-single file. The boulder traps were released a few seconds later, and the large rocks went tumbling down, crushing the Shinra on the mountainside and bowling over those troops not yet at the foot of the cliff.

"They've got flying technosoldiers!" Nanaki cried. Suddenly, the crack of Barret's gun-arm rang out, shooting down the enemy fliers one-by-one as they came in range. A few of the riflemen joined him, from the sound of it, but the rest focused on the ground troops.

Harry chuckled. "Barret's on it."

"He would be more effective mowing down the ground troops," the general remarked, "as they are far less able to dodge."

"True," Red XIII replied, "but the fliers are the most dangerous foes here. They could fly straight up here if they are not shot down."

"Besides, Barret's gun-arm is more than a machine gun grafted into his arm," Harry added, nodding. "He could just about hit a _fly_ from a hundred feet with it, he's so accurate."

"He's not _quite_ that accurate, Harry," Nanaki chuckled. "But I'm sure he'd appreciate your vote of confidence."

Since the defenders of Fort Condor stuck to Harry's battle plan with rigid stoicness, letting those who got past to meet the bulk of the defenders instead of risking life and limb to stop them, the battle was fairly one-sided. Barret's troupe of riflemen kept the skies clear while taking potshots at the ground troops, and the fire bombs rained down alongside the debris from the defeated fliers, causing havoc as the Shinra troops raced to contain the flames.

Harry plopped down. "Will we even need to be here?" he asked rhetorically.

"I tink so, comrade," a soldier with a vague Russian accent said to Harry as he pulled himself up onto their ledge. His uniform was distinctly Shinra, but his eyes glowed similar to Cloud.

Harry cursed as he jumped to his feet. "A SOLDIER."

The SOLDIER laughed, seemingly unaware of the bullet wound in his left leg and right arm. "Very good, comrade! But come, let us see if your body is as strong as your mind!"

Harry glanced at Nanaki. "He's overconfident, Harry," Red XIII muttered. "Use that to your advantage."

"Right," Harry nodded, pulling out Gryffindor's Sword.

The blade shined with an almost holy light as the sun glanced off the metal. The SOLDIER took on a greedy expression. "Such a magnificent blade, comrade. I will enjoy using it after I take it from your cold, dead hands."

Harry smirked. "That will be difficult to manage from the grave, SOLDIER, but if you do indeed manage it, I will be very impressed."

The enemy laughed. "Pity you shall have to die, comrade. I haven't enjoyed banter this good since the legendary Sephiroth was in SOLDIER!" He charged, swinging his sword down.

Harry shrugged off the revelation and rolled to the side, prodding harshly at the man's bullet wound with the tip of his sword. The man growled in pain, but was composed enough to parry Harry's swipe at his neck. "I shall not be defeated so easily, comrade!"

Harry grunted as he jumped back, putting a bit of distance between him and his foe. He grinned. "Is that all?" he taunted. "I've fought _rodents_ with more skill than that."

"Mock if you wish, comrade, it will make leettel difference!" the SOLDIER shot back. He moved more slowly, cautious now. Harry feinted with a thrust, but his attack was parried again, and Harry was forced to duck and roll away again to avoid decapitation.

"I stand by my previous statement," Harry said, resorting to the lower track of insults when taunts failed to effect his enemy. "But I didn't want to hurt your feelings by pointing out that your mother was a whore, and your father smelt of elderberries!"

The SOLDIER's eyes flashed. "You dare speak of my honored parents?"

Harry inwardly smirked, though he saw Nanaki shake his head in exasperation at him through the corner of his eye. "I dare. I also dare to say that you must have a low opinion of people, thinking that you're better than them. When, in reality, you're not much better than slugs."

"I will not stand here and be insulted by a pipsqueak like you!"

"You know," Harry went on, slowly maneuvering to the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped the three hundred feet to the ground below, in perfect and unfettered view of Barret's gun-arm. "You should toss out more of your funny remarks; that's all they're good for."

"Grah!"

"Speaking of your parents, all that you are you owe to them. So, why don't you send them a penny and square the account?" Harry suggested delicately.

"You're dead!" The SOLDIER roared, dropping his accent in his anger. He charged forward recklessly, just as Harry expected.

"You're a Materia short of a bracelet," Harry taunted as he stepped aside at the last moment, causing his foe to send himself hurtling over the cliff side."See you next fall, _comrade_."

"Aaaahhh!" The SOLDIER fell through the air pretty quickly. With a soft 'thwumpf,' he hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, Harry privately mused. He didn't get up for a few minutes, and when he moved, Barret's gun-arm pumped him full of lead. He didn't move again.

Harry sheathed his sword and returned to his position. "That was fun," he said cheerfully.

The troops and the general were staring at him in shock, while Nanaki sighed and rolled his eye. "What did you think you were doing, Harry, insulting him like that?"

Harry quirked an eyebrow at him. "In a one-on-one fight to the death, Nanaki, I couldn't have beaten him. I just don't have the skills or the strength. Besides, you were the one who told me he was overconfident. I used that against him."

"By pissing him off, kid?" one of the defenders asked.

Harry nodded. "People who are angry make mistakes, and become blind to the environment around them. I made him mad, then used his rage against him to send him plummeting to his near-death. Then Barret finished him off."

Red XIII began to laugh. "A cunning plan, Harry. I really shouldn't be surprised, after everything we've been through together."

Harry grinned. "What can I say? I'm getting pretty good at this whole 'sly wit and cunning planning' thing."

With the defeat of their leader, the rest of the Shinra troops were panicked and disorganized. The defenders of Fort Condor mopped them up quickly and sent the few survivors packing. "YES! We did it! That was wonderful! Thank you! I doubt the Shinra will attack now!" the general cheered.

"Look!" One of the soldiers cried. Harry looked up and stared in shock as the sky darkened around the Fort. The egg that the condor was protecting cracked, than hatched. A sphere of light enveloped the condor, bursting in flame a second later. The energy faded, and the condor screeches and tumbled off the side of the tower.

"Th, that light just now...The condor...the eggs..." the general gasped. "What?" A not-so-tiny baby condor was preening its feathers in the now-empty nest. The chick chirped and flapped its wings before clumsily taking flight."

"Gone..." the general breathed. He smiled and turned back to Harry. "Be sure and report to my father, too."

Harry quirked an eyebrow before nodding. They rejoined with Barret inside the main room of the Fort, where the old man was still sitting at his table, puffing lightly on his pipe.

"Everyone, thanks," the man said after Harry concluded his report. "I really mean it, thanks. We can't give you much beyond what you asked for, but we'll make sure you can stop in and stay any time, so be sure to drop by."

"Thank you," Harry nodded. "Well, I guess we'll go get the Materia now, then, and be on our way..."

"Actually, there's one thing I forgot to tell you..." the man said, making them stop and turn back to him. He pulled out the Huge Materia from his pocket and placed it in Harry's hand.

"Damn, man, it's Huge Materia," Barret breathed.

"This is the Materia inside the reactor," the old man explained. "We weren't protectin' the reactor, we were protectin' the condors. When that reactor was built, they forced us to help. That's how we knew what was inside the reactor. I knew this day would come, so after the Shinra left, I sneaked in and took the Materia. I didn't mean to fool you, but I guess that's how it ended up. I'm really sorry about that."

"Just forget about it," Harry replied. "We're all still alive, we won, and we protected the condors and received this Huge Materia." He pocketed the large, shining orb.

"I see," the man nodded. "If you put it that way...we're really grateful."

Harry turned to Red XIII and Barret. "So, the last Huge Materia that Shinra's after is in the underwater reactor in Junon?"

"We gotta get there first and beat'em no matter what!" Barret grunted.

But, you know," Red XIII refuted. "Shinra's probably on high alert since we always interfere with their plans. How about we take a break and see Cloud for a bit?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I'm worried about Tifa as well. She may have collapsed takin' care of the guy by now. How about checking on them? Down to Mideel!"

Harry, Red XIII, and Barret boarded the Highwind and relayed their plans to visit Cloud and Tifa in Mideel for a while. "Lying low, eh? That's probably a good idea," Cait Sith agreed, approving the plan. Cid grunted an affirmative before setting the airship on the fastest course to Mideel.

Harry went down to the War Room and placed the newly-acquired Huge Materia next to its brother. "Two down, two to go," he whispered. Nodding, he turned and left, returning to the bridge.

* * *

Sirius: *laughing* Your mother was a whore, and your father smelt of elderberries!

Harry: Where is that line from, anyway?

I'm not entirely sure, to be honest, but I think it was from one of the _Monty Python_ movies.

Sirius: Still, pissing someone off is a good way of beating them when they're bigger and stronger than you are.

Harry: Kinda cliche, though.

Perhaps, but you can't deny it isn't an effective strategy.


	55. The Lifestream

Ugh...I need a job, guys.

Sirius: But Cor, if you get a job, you won't be able to work on this as much.

I need a job so I can make the car payments and pay for gas.

Sirius: Oh.

Harry: "Oh" he says. *rolls his eyes*

* * *

Harry, Red XIII, Cid, Cait Sith, and Barret stepped into the Mideel clinic. The doctor looked up at them and sighed. "I'm sorry...but your friend's condition remains unchanged. You'll have to be patient and wait this out. These things take time. Just like fine wine, time is of the essence." Harry nodded silently, and stepped into the next room.

Tifa was still watching over Cloud, who was still bobbing his head. "It's no use..." Tifa whispered brokenly. "I don't understand a thing, Cloud. What should I do...? What if you never recover for the rest of your life?"

"Tifa..."

A sudden, huge earthquake shook the area, sending Tifa and Harry tumbling off their feet. "Eyaaaah!?" the martial artist cried.

Cloud slowly lifted his head up. "They...They're...coming...!"

Harry whipped his head around to face him. "What did you say, Cloud!?"

"Uh....aaa...?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. We'll take care of it."

Harry stepped outside in time to hear Cid shout, "Damn! What the hell's goin' on!?"

The entire area quaked and randomly flashed red and yellow. "What is this!?" Harry cried.

"The Lifestream is gushing up from below the surface of the earth!" Red XIII shouted over the chaos.

An unearthly cry of pain roared in their ears. "Damn, that's...!?" Cid gasped. "This is bad!"

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Cid!" Harry yelled, ducking under a piece of flying debris.

Tifa came running out of the clinic. "Harry!? What's wrong?"

Harry shook his head. "We've got it under control, Tifa. You and Cloud get inside quick!"

"But I...!?" Tifa's protest was short-lived as Cid crossed his arms.

"Hey, don't worry about a thing. We ain't about to die that easily."

Tifa nodded slowly. "Be careful!" She turned and dashed back inside to keep an eye on Cloud.

"Okay, here I go!" Cid postulated. "Watch this!" The five ran into the square and looked up in time to see the Ultimate Weapon circling in the sky overhead. "Damn!! That's fucking Weapon!" Cid swore.

"Of all the times to show up," Harry remarked sardonically.

"Okay then, come on!" Cid challenged, spining his spear. "You bitch!"

"Bring it on!" Barret roared in agreement.

Harry turned to Nanaki. "They're going to get us killed."

Red turned his amused eye on his friend. "But still, we cannot leave them alone, can we? We'd miss out on the action."

"Sadly enough, that's very true," Harry agreed, grinning in spite of the situation. He pulled out his sword and stood beside Barret. "Leave some for us, mates!"

Cid grunted. "I think there's more than plenty for all of us."

Weapon landed heavily in front of them. Two stories tall, only magic and Barret's gun-arm could reach the beast's head and torso. Purple skin and fur covered its centaur-esque body. Harry gripped Gryffindor's Sword tightly. "It's obvious that the pain is about to come," he quipped. "The question is, who is it coming to?"

Barret growled and unleashed a steady stream of bullets from his gun-arm. Cid flashed orange and cried, "Big Brawl!" Cid continued to glow orange as he leapt forward, repeatedly driving his spear into Weapon's body. Nanaki showed off his agility by literally running _up_ a nearby tree and pushed off from it, sailing through the air and landing on the abomination's back, where he dug with his claws and teeth trying to cause as much damage as he could.

Harry frowned. "Hey, that's not fair, you guys!" he cried playfully, running forward and dodging a beam of destructive green energy. Harry rolled forward underneath Ultima Weapon's belly and slashed at its foreleg. He left quickly when the foot moved back to swat him.

Cid fell back, tired from using his Limit Break. He quaffed a Potion to heal the bruises he obtained from his short-lived scrap. Barret had to stop firing to dodge a physical attack attempt from the beast, while Nanaki was unmolested during his assault on the monster's back. It seemed the Weapon knew he was back there and hurting him, but he couldn't reach, a fact that Red XIII was unashamedly abusing.

Harry wasn't lucky enough to dodge the second beam of energy. He was thrown back, slamming into the supports for a wooden bridge that collapsed around him. "Ow! That bloody hurt!" he grunted, slowly pulling himself out. He glowed a very bright orange. "Now, it's my turn, mother fucker!" He pointed the tip of Gryffindor's Sword at Ultimate Weapon, with energy the same shade of green as his flashing eyes gathering. "Avada Kedavra!"

The bolt of green energy sped through the air as Red XIII, knowing how destructive Harry's Limit Breaks could be, jumped down. A good thing, too, as when the spell slammed into the Weapon's draconic face, the abberation was sent flying through the air as its body grew several large and deep gashes, from which torrents of blood spewed forward. The Killing Spell coudn't quite kill such a beast, Harry saw, but it still mutilated it pretty well. The Weapon screeched and managed to gain control of its impromptu fight and flew away.

"You effin' coward! Trying to escape! Get back here! I'm not done yet!" Harry bellowed at its retreating figure before collapsing to his knees."

"Damn, man. Just a little bit more an' I wouldda smashed him," Barret grumbled.

Red XIII dropped an Elixir into Harry's hand and said, "It seems the Lifestream has settled as well."

Harry quickly quaffed the potion, and near instantly felt a hundred percent better. He stood up as the ground began to quake more violently than before. "Damn, you gotta be kidding!" Cid cried. "This's bad! The main stream is kickin' up! Somethin' way bigger than that last one is on its way! No good! Get outta here!"

"What about Tifa and Cloud!?" Harry protested.

"Goddamit!" Cid bellowed. "You don't have time to worry about anyone other than yourself! You don't know when that stream'll blow!"

"There's always time!" Harry argued. Something in the ground gave off a huge bang.

"Whoa!" Barret shouted. "There's no time, hurry!" He and Red XIII ran out of the village toward the airship.

Cid looked at Harry. "Don't do anything stupid, kid. I _really_ don't want to have to lead our merry little group." He turned tail and fled after the others.

"I'm not leaving without my friends," Harry called after him before running toward the clinic. He burst through the door and found Tifa crouching beside Cloud's wheelchair. "Tifa! Cloud! We gotta get outta here!"

Tifa looked up at him. "This is bad...the tremors are getting worse!"

Cloud's head bobbed frantically. Harry turned to the doctor who was still cowering underneath a table. "Doctor! Shouldn't we move him somewhere rather than stay here!?"

The doctor nodded. "Hmm...it should be safer to take refuse in a wide open space."

Tifa knelt in front of Cloud. "Don't you worry about a thing, Cloud...I'll see to it that you get somewhere safe!" Cloud unconsciously nodded assent. The ground screamed from nearby.

"No!" The doctor cried. "The structure can't take it! Hurry!"

"Yes!" Harry agreed. Tifa stood and shakily grasped the grips of Cloud's wheelchair and pushed him toward the door. Harry held it open for them, and once they were through, followed them toward the gates.

"Ready, Cloud? We're leaving now!" Tifa shouted over the chaos. She and Harry wheeled Cloud out of Mideel, running frantically as the ground behind them cracked and collapsed. The gaps were getting closer and closer to them until, just before the village gates, the whole section of ground gave way, tilted, and fell into the Lifestream, taking Cloud, Tifa, and Harry with it. Harry had time to see the expressionless look on Cloud's face, and the terrified look on Tifa's, before they landed with a soundless splash in the rippling green of the Lifestream.

* * *

That seems like a good place to end it.

Sirius: What!? But I want to see how Harry pulls out of this one!

Harry: And you will.

In the next chapter.

Sirus: Gah!

Harry and Cor: *snicker*

Harry: Now I know why Fred and George talk like that.

It's a lot of fun to drive people batty like that.


	56. The Truth Revealed

*yawn* I'm sleepy...

Harry: Just don't drop the ball on quality while writing this story.

I shall endeavor to be an inspiring example.

Sirius: Huh?

Harry: *laughing* I think you broke him with the big words, Cor.

Remus: It's not hard. When we were students in Hogwarts, I did that with some regularity.

Sirius: *drools in a stupor*

You know, maybe now he won't interrupt me while writing. I hadn't originally planned on Harry joining Cloud and Tifa in the Lifestream...

* * *

Thoughts were dashing through Harry's mind. _Where am I...? What's happening...? I..._ It was dark, so dark the only thing he could see was himself. He felt like he sitting down, so he stood up in the nothingness. _Where's Cloud? Where's Tifa? Where are you two!?_ He turned slowly, not moving his feet, as though he was on a turntable. _Huh...What is this? Who...?_ Harry glanced around. _Who is it? I can't hear you..._

Odd nosies filled the gloom, alive, but not human. Harry spun around as some foreign knowledge creeped into his brain. "Wait! Wait! I don't know anything about that!" The knowledge of a crime, a father raping his daughter, filled his mind, sickening him. "No, it's not me...I'd never do anything like that! I don't even _have_ children yet!"

Harry turned around frantically. "No, stop it! Get away from me!" He flailed his arms and ran in some random direction, not getting anywhere but to more blackness. "Someone...help me..."

"Somebody...help! Please!"

"Tifa?" Harry shakily stood up again. Tifa's body suddenly glowed a brilliant fire-red. The sounds changed as Harry knelt down beside the girl, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Cloud, help me!" Tifa cried, crumpled on the ground. Harry wrapped his arms around her.

"It's me, Harry. Tifa, can you hear me? Eyaaagh!" With a sudden, great, grating sound, the two spun at dizzying speeds and spiraled into darkness.

The next thing Harry knew, he and Tifa were sitting across a small green platform from each other. They stood up slowly and looked around. Their platform was suspended in space. The sky dimmed slightly as Planets are born and die in the background. Three paths lead away from the platform, and stationed at each, was a ghostly image of Cloud with his head on his knees. "Where are we?" Harry breathed.

The area brightened. Tifa spun and looked up to see Cloud and gasped. Harry's eyes followed her gaze and locked onto another Cloud, high about the platform. He was transparent and clutching his head, writing in slow motion, suspended in the air.

"Cloud!? What is it, Cloud? What is this...!?" Tifa asked. "Is this the inside of your dream? Or is it...your...subconsciousness...?"

Sudden realization crept into Harry's mind. "Cloud...you're searching, aren't you? Searching...for yourself..."

Tifa turned to him and nodded. "Right. We can help, too. We'll work together to try and get the real you back!" She crossed her arms, contemplative. "But...where do we start?"

Harry looked around at the three paths. One led to an old, weather-worn well. Another led to the gates of Nibelheim, but it was faded slightly, as in in a dream. The third led to a window through which Harry could see a bit of pink. A bedroom?

"Let's start with Nibelheim," Tifa suggested.

Harry shrugged. "It's as good a spot as any," he agreed. The two walked over to the Cloud guarded the Nibelheim gates. The ghostly image looked up at them. "The gates of Nibelheim...Five years ago, Sephiroth passed through these gates. And....That's how it all started."

Harry tilted his head to the side. "So, it connects to Nibelheim?"

Tifa looked more confident in her choice. "That's right. It's probably best to start from there..." The form of Cloud before them stood up. Tifa held out her hand. "Let's go have a look, Cloud. I know it's not easy, but I'll be right with you."

"Don't forget about me," Harry quipped. "I'll be right here with you, every step of the way!"

The trio arrived at the Gates of Nibelheim as it was in Cloud's subconscious memory. "Cloud, look," Tifa pointed in the direction of the courtyard. "There's the well..." She turned in another direction. "And that's Gramps' Inn, too." She stopped by a rusted old truck reposing next to the gates. "The only truck in town. It's been here since we were little kids, right?" She turned back toward Cloud's mind. "This is the Nibelheim you remember, right?" she nodded. "It's the same as my Nibelheim. That's why this place is...our Nibelheim."

Cloud stepped forward, looking at his feet as Tifa went over to him. "Five years ago," Harry mused, "two men from SOLDIER came to Nibelheim."

"Sephiroth," Tifa continued, "and a young, vibrant soldier." She turned to Cloud. "Can you tell me again what happened?"

The Cloud standing with them blinked out of existence, reappearing behind Tifa, still staring at his feet. She and Harry moved aside as Sephiroth came into the twon. He stood at that gates a moment, then turned back. He takes no notice of the spectators as this...movie, Harry decided, of Cloud's memories played out.

** "So, how does it feel?" Sephiroth asked.**

"Five years ago," Tifa explained, "I saw the real Sephiroth for the very first time."

**"It's your first time back to your hometown in a long time, right? So how does it feel?" Sephiroth asked. "I wouldn't know, because I don't have a hometown..."**

**"Umm, how 'bout your parents?" Cloud's voice asked.**

"So, this is...the Great Sephiroth," Harry mused aloud.

**Sephiroth explained. "My mother is Jenova. She died right after she gave birth to me. My father..." He trailed off in laughter.**

"But to tell you the truth," Tifa said, "I thought he was very cold."

**"What does it matter?" Sephiroth asked. "All right, let's go."**

"I remember feeling a foreboding about him," Tifa said as Sephiroth, Cloud, and the three Shinra soldiers stepped into town. The soldier on the right stops to occupy the same space as the present Cloud. He walked through the soldier, to the other Cloud, turned, and seemed to meld with him as they both occupy the same space. The present and past Clouds flash subtly, but Tifa shook her head. "No, Cloud."

She turned away. "I've been hiding it from some time, afraid that if I told you, something terrible might happen. But, I'm not going to hide anything more." With a white flash, Sephiroth, the guards and the past Cloud disappear, leaving only Cloud, Tifa, and Harry.

"Cloud wasn't there, was he, Tifa?" Harry asked. "Cloud didn't come to Nibelheim five years ago."

Tifa turned away as Cloud looked at the ground. In a white flash, the Tifa of the past sat on the ground, staring at the dirt. She was wearing a cowboy hat, boots, and a skirt and white shirt. "I...waited. But Cloud...never came," the present Tifa explained. The past Tifa stood up. "The two that were ordered here were Sephiroth and another person. The past Tifa dashed off into town as Sephiroth appeared before them.

**"All right, let's go." He turned and walked into Nibelheim. The scenery faded to white, but Harry caught a glimpse of two soldiers and the young man with black hair, in Cloud's place and Cloud's massive sword on his back, followed his superior.**

Harry and Tifa found themselves back on the green platform with the midair writing apparition of Cloud. "So, the memeber of SOLDIER who came with Sephirtoh wasn't Cloud," Harry summarized.

Tifa looked down. "There's nothing...I can say. Cloud needs to find the answer himself." She shook her head. "If you can't...then you...Take your time, Cloud. Slowly, little by little, okay?"

"Let's examine the well, next," Harry suggested.

"That starry night at the well...and our promise tha tnight...what if the memory was just a lie?" Cloud's voice whispered into their ears.

"Don't hurry, cloud...Don't answer too quickly," Tifa cautioned. "Just keep checking all those small emotions and it'll come back...slowly...little by little." She nodded. "Right...like the sky that night...the heavens were filled with stars..."

"From the beginning, okay?" Harry added.

The three were standing on the well. "Try and remember, Cloud," Tifa encouraged. A child version of Cloud materialized. He sitting on the edge of the well, dangling his feet. Than Tifa, also a child, sat there too, sitting across from him. "Right," the adult Tifa nodded. "I wa swearing these clothes. That's you, too. We were so small then..." she sat down next to her childhood counterpart, who doesn't see her, and added, "...and cute." She and her younger self both looked at their respective versions of Cloud in such perfect sync that Harry snorted in amusement. "Sephiroth once said..." The adult Tifa looked down again. "Cloud made up his memories by listening to my stories..."

She swung her feet in unison with the young Tifa. "Did you imagine this sky? No, you must have remembered it."

The young Cloud shook his head. Tifa went on, "That night the stars were gorgeous. It was just Cloud and I. We talked at the well...That's why I continued to believe that you were the real Cloud." She swung her feet one more time. "I still believe you're the Cloud from Nibelheim."

With a flash, young Cloud blinked onto the highest structure of the well, silhouetted agains the night sky. "But you don't believe in yourself," Tifa continued. She crossed her legs in perfect sync with her young counterpart, as though they were the same being. The present Tifa leaned back to look up at the younger Cloud. The scene faded to white. "These memories aren't enough."

Back in Cloud's subconsciousness, Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Cloud, what about your other memories?" He shook his head. "No, not memories. A memory is something that has to be consciously recalled, yeah? That's why sometimes it can be mistaken and become a differnt thing..." He glanced into the endless, Lifestream-green space. "But, it's different from a memory locked deep within your heart, right? That's why it must be a fake. If Cloud could call up _that_ memory..." He blinked. "That's it! What about some memory that has to do with Tifa?"

Tifa turned to the Cloud of the well. "I say something and don't remember it...but you say something, and I remember it, too...Then we'll know that's our memory..." She nodded. "Talk to me. About anything, some important memory you...Now that you mention it, why did you want to join SOLDIER in the first palce? I always thought it was a sudden decision you made..."

Cloud's voice, coming from the transparent Cloud above, whispered into Harry's ear. "I was devastated...I wanted to be noticed..." Tifa didn't seem to hear. "I was devastated...I wanted to be noticed..." The next words came from the Cloud of the well. "I thought, if I got stronger, I could get someone to notice..."

Tifa heard these words. She nodded. "Someone has to notice you? Who?"

"Who...? You know who! You, that's who!" the Cloud from the sky whispered into Harry's ear. Harry snickered.

"Isn't it obvious, Tifa?" Harry asked. She shot him a questioning look. "I know I'm not that handy with girls and emotions and stuff, but even I could see that Cloud was crazy about you."

Tifa blinked in shock. "Me? Why!?"

"Tifa...did you forget...about those days...?" the Cloud from the well asked.

She turned away. "Look...I..." She shook her head. "I'm sorry...but what are you talking about?" A teenaged Cloud jumped down from a stone column near the place where the Nibelheim gates stood.

"No, it's all right," he soothed her. "You were having a hard time back then." He looked down. "You were so busy with your own things, it's only natural you don't remember me back then."

Tifa walked over to him. "'Back then'?" she repeated.

"It's improtant to me...I hate to say it, but...it's a very important memory," teen Cloud said. "Do you want to see it?" he ran over to stand next to the third and final Cloud. Past them, Harry could see the window, but it floated there, without a building to hold it up. Tifa spoke to the Cloud seated there.

"Cloud?"

"...A sealed up secret....wish...Tender memories...no one can ever know..." The ghostly Cloud stood slowly and moved out of the way so that teen Cloud, Tifa, and Harry can walk by and stand next to the window.

"Do you know where this window goes to, Tifa?" teen Cloud asked. "Fine. Let's go."

They climbed through the window and found themselves in a pink bedroom. Tifa looked around, her eyes sliding over Harry, teen Cloud, and adult Cloud. "My room?"

Teen Cloud nodded. "It was my first time there."

"Was it?"

"I only used to look up at it from outside..." teen Cloud admitted.

A flash of light, and a teenage Tifa was sitting on the floor at the foot of her bed, her head on her knees. Three boys, her friends, were standing around her. One was staring silently out the window. It was he who said, **"Hey, look! Cloud's coming!"** Harry glanced out and saw a young Cloud running up the path. The boy turned to Tifa. **"You think he wants to come in?"**

The Tifa on the floor looked up for a moment, revealing red, puffy eyes from crying, before placing her head back on her knees. The adult Tifa spoke up. "Was that the first day you came into my room?" Another of the younger Tifa's friends stepped up to her. "That's right," Tifa nodded. "We lived next to each other, but I really didn't know you that well." The third boy came up. "I've known you since we were children and I always thought we were close."

Teen Tifa shook her head. "Now that you mention it...I don't recall you ever being in my room," the present Tifa frowned. Harry looked outside and saw that the young Cloud had disappeared. He looked around, and found him standing right next to him. He nodded. "Tifa always used to be with this three-some."

"That's right," Tifa agreed.

The young Cloud turned away. "I used to think...they were all stupid," he admitted.

"What?" Tifa gasped, whipping around to face him.

Young Cloud turned back to her. "You were all childish, laughing at every little stupid thing." Tifa looked back at her former self and friends, then back to young Cloud.

"But they...you all were children, back then," Harry said.

Young Cloud turned away slowly, looking down at the floor with shame. "I know. I'm the one that was stupid...I really wanted to play with everyone, but I was never allowed into the group." He faced Tifa dead-on then. "Then later...I began to think I was different. That I was different from those immature kids..." He turned away again. "That then...maybe..." A double of the adult Cloud, stood, flashing in and out of existence. It spoke, but young Cloud didn't seem to notice.

"Just maybe, they would invite me in." Tifa and Harry spun to face the double. "I thought that might happen, so I hung around..."

Young Cloud spoke up. "I was so prejudiced. And...weak."

The double spoke again. "That night I called Tifa out to the well...I thought to myself that Tifa would never come, that she hated me."

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, it was so sudden. I was...a bit surprised." She faced the younger Cloud. "But...while it's true that we weren't _that_ close..." she turned to gaze at the teenaged Tifa. "After you left town, I really thought about you a lot." She put her hand on her cheek. "I used to wonder how Cloud was doing. I wonder if Cloud was able to get into SOLDIER?" She turned back to the child version of Cloud. "I started reading the newspapers, thinking that there might an article about you."

The younger Cloud looked down, pleased. "Thanks, Tifa. Tell him what you told me, later. He'll probably be so happy."

Tifa nodded. "Okay!" She glanced around. "Huh?" She looked at the double, then the original adult Cloud, then back to the young Cloud. "What happened on this day? Was it a special day?"

Young Clou did a little hop. "This was the day..."

After a pause, the double added, "Tifa's mother..." And the scene faded to white. When it came back, they were still in Tifa's room, but young Tifa was sitting on the floor, looking very small.

"The day Mom died," the adult Tifa finished, closing her eyes for a moment.

The young Tifa stood up. **"I want...to see...Mom..."** She ran out, and the room faded and twisted until they were standing on the path of Mt. Nibel. **"I wonder if there's anything beyond that mountain?"**

The young Tifa, along with her three friends, were walking up the mountain path. One of them looked at the mountain, then back to Tifa. **"Mt. Nibel is scary. Many people have died there. No one crosses that mountain alive..."** he protested.

The Tifa of the past faced the boy, her arms spread skyward. **"How 'bout those that died?"** she asked. When she didn't get an answer, she turned and looked back at the mountain range. **"Did Mama pass through the mountains?"** She walked a little way along the path, then turned back. **"I'm going!"** She spun on her heel and headed up the path. Two of her friends glanced at each other, silently conversing, before one nodded and turned and ran home, possibly to tell some adults. He bumped into Cloud, who had been following. Cloud glanced back at him, before running forward on the path. He caught up with Tifa's remaining friends at the wooden bridge. The two boys looked at each other before turning tail and running home while Tifa walked resolutely across the bridge. Cloud apprehensively took a step onto the bridge, then, without looking back, sprinted across it towards Tifa. The scene faded to black, and when it reutned, the child versions of Tifa and Cloud were lying side by side, crumpled, in a white void. The adult Tifa and Cloud, alongside Harry, looked on. A black silhouette of the older Cloud stood in the center. Tifa walked up to him.

"I don't remember what path I walked," the silhouette admitted. "Tifa missed her step. I ran out to her, but didn't make it in time. Both of us fell off the cliff. Back then, I only scarred my knees, but..." Tifa's father and another man from the village came running onto the scene, skidding to a stop in shock. Tifa's father picked her up in his arms and ran back into town. The other man screamed at the young Cloud.

**"CLOUD! Why'd you bring Tifa to a palce like this!"** Cloud sat up on one elbow. **"What the hell's the matter with you!? What if she dies!?"** He spun on his heel and followed Tifa's father back into town, never giving Cloud a chance to explain.

The silhouette spoke again. "Tifa was in a coma for seven days. We all thought she wouldn't make it. If only I could've saved her...I was so angry...Angry at myself for my weakness." He paused. "Ever since then, I felt Tifa blamed me...I got so out of control...I'd get into fights, not even caring who it was." The white void turned black, absorbing the silhouette. "That was the frist time I heard about Sephiroth. If I got strong like Sephiroth, then everyone might..."

Harry blinked, and they were standing on the green platform in Cloud's mind again. Tifa stood opposite him, in between the Cloud silhouette and an adult Cloud. "If I could just get stronger...then even Tifa would have to notice me..."

Tifa nodded. "So, that was it..." She breathed. "Sorry, Cloud. If I had only remembered more clearly what had happened, I could have done something sooner..."

The adult Cloud shook his head. "It's not your fault, Tifa."

"But, I remember back when we were eight!" Tifa protested. She nodded. "That's it! Now I know!"

Harry blinked. "What?"

Tifa looked excited. "You weren't created five years ago! My childhood memories weren't all made up!" She looked at the silhouette, then the other. "Hang in there, Cloud! Just a little longer! You've almost found the real you!" Both Clouds nodded, then touched their faces, in perfect sync. "Let's go back to Nibelheim again," Tifa urged. The silhouette merged with the adult Cloud with a small metallic clang. The resulting adult Cloud, along with Tifa and Harry, ran toward the representation of the gates of Nibelheim.

"The truth is right there," Harry declared. "We almost have the answer, right in the palm of our hands."

They ran through the courtyard toward Shinra mansion, until Tifa stopped them. "Cloud, wait. Where are you going?"

Cloud turned to her. "The reactor...?" He nodded. "To the reactor! The Mako Reactor of five years ago!" He ran off, provoking Tifa and Harry to follow him. The Tifa of the past and Sephiroth were at the top of the stairs, wrestling over Sephiroth's sword. Sephiroth wrenched it away and slashed Tifa as he did five years ago. Harry watched as she flew backwards, seemingly in slow motion, then landed, broken, at the bottom of the stairs. The black-haired man came running in, huge sword on his back. "Hey, it's Cloud!" Tifa gasped, then blinked.

Sephiroth turned without a word and entered Jenova's room. Cloud whispered brokenly, "Za...ck...Zac...k." He nodded. "Zack."

"You remembered!" Tifa smiled.

"Zack?" Harry tilted his head. "Tifa, wasn't Zack the name of the boy whose parents we met in Gongaga?"

Zack rushed up the stairs after Sephiroth, leaving Tifa broken and bleeding on the floor. "That's right!" Tifa nodded. She turned to Cloud. "It was Zack who came to Nibelheim with Sephiroth!" She slowed down. "Then, where were you, Cloud?" After a pause, Zack came flying backward out of Jenova's room, landing atop one of the pods, in a similar broken position as the Tifa on the floor. Tifa turned to Cloud one more time. "Cloud...Did you...see it all?"

There was a flash of white. One of the guards that accompanied Zack ran into the room. He glanced in horror around the room. "I saw...everything." He grabbed Zack's sword and rested it against his shoulder and dashed up the stairs. Harry and Tifa went after him and watched. The guard rushed at Sephiroth, lunging at him with the sword. Sephiroth turned just in time to receive the sword through his stomach.

**"Mom...Tifa...my town...give it back!" the guard growled, sounding remarkably like Cloud.**

**"Aaarrgh! Who...who are you...?" Sephiroth panted.**

**The guard pulled his sword from Sephiroth's body. The silver-haired man knelt down, clutching his stomach. The guard slowly backed away, shaking his head. "I had so much respect for you...I admired you..." He laid the sword across his back and turned away. He breathed heavily.**

"Cloud?" Harry called.

The guard removed his helmet. Blonde hair jumped up, no longer confined in the helmet, into familiar spikes. Familiar sparkling blue eyes shined with sadness. It was indeed Cloud.

"That's what happened..." Tifa whispered. The scene faded from Jenova's room to the Mako fountain in the Nibel mountains. Zack stands in place of Cloud. Tifa walked toward the fountain, while the guard looked on. "You were there. You were watching me." At the entrance tohe Mt. Nibel Mako Reactor, the guard blocked Tifa form entering the reactor. "Yeah, I remember." The past Tifa turned away, in sync with the present one, her hands on her hips. "Hmm...so it was you."

Now they stood in a black void. It faded in, and they found themselves standing in the Shinra truck as it travelled toward Nibelheim. **Zack turned to Cloud. "Hey, Cloud. If you're feeling sick, why don't you take that mask off?"**

**"Yeah," Cloud nodded slowly.**

The present Cloud appeared. "Yeah...this is...me. I...never made it as a member of SODLIER."

**The carsick Cloud slumped down as Zack walked energetically around the back of the truck, doing squat thrusts and the like.**

"I even left my hometown telling everyone I was going to join, but..." Cloud shook his head. "I was so embarrassed...I didn't want to see anybody..." The scene changed to the gates of Nibelheim.

**Sephiroth entered the town, followed by Zack, Cloud, and the other guard. Cloud jerked, then ran back to the truck to retrieve his helmet, flushing. Sephiroth turned to him upon his return. "How does it feel? It's your first time back in your hometown in a long time, right?"**

Flash. The courtyard and all the buildings were in flames. A guard was lying collapsed at Harry's feet. **"I'm..."**

The scene faded to the pod room at the Nibel Reactor. **Cloud, helmet off, exited from Jenova's room. The wounded Tifa was scooped up into his arms. "You came...You kept your promise..." she whispered. Cloud gently laid her down against one of the pods in the bottom row. "So you really did come for me when I was in trouble!"**

**Cloud looked down. "Sorry...I didn't get there...fast enough..."**

**Tifa smiled gently, blood dribbling slowly from her mouth. "It's all right...Cloud..."**

**Sephiroth staggered from Jenova's room, her decapitated head in one hand and his sword in the other. "Just like you," he grunted.**

**Sephiroth staggered toward the exit of the Reactor, Jenova's head swinging back and forth, and left the pod room. Cloud got up and prepared to follow, but Zack calls to him before he could go. "Cloud...Kill Sephiroth." Cloud nodded and left.**

**Sephiroth, despite the wound in his stomach, walked determinedly out of the ractor. Cloud exited the pob room as Sephiroth reached the walkway over the Mako pit in the reactor, the hole to the Lifestream. "Sephiroth!" Cloud called, rushing forward him, preparing for the kill. Sephiroth stopped, looking over shoulder at the blonde. He neatly stabs Cloud through the chest with the Masamune. He lifted the sword, with Cloud impaled on it, off the ground.** Harry was bitterly reminded of the day Sephiroth had killed Aeris.

**"Don't...push...your luck..." Sephiroth grunted, the effort of holding Cloud's body off the ground with his sword taking its toll on his severely wounded body. Cloud dangled for a few moments, then, by sheer will alone, brought himself down back to the ground. Sephiroth's sword arm begins to tremble. Cloud reached out and grasped the sharp edge of the blade. "It...can't...be!" Sephiroth gasped as Cloud summoned his strength. He hefted the sword, still in his chest, raising Sephiroth an inch above the ground, then two inches. With all his might, he flung the sword to the side. It slid out of his torso as Sephiroth flew into the wall above the Mako pool. He fell down, down, into the Lifestream. Cloud slumped to the ground, and everything faded to white.**

Tifa, Harry, and the young Cloud stood in the center the green platform in Cloud's subconscious. "Cloud..." Tifa gasped, ashen and pale.

The child turned to her. "Then...this is goodbye, Tifa. Until we meet again." He stood straight. The three Clouds guarding Nibelheim, the well, and the window, all stand in unison, all translucent. They walked forward, ignoring the shocked expressions on Tifa and Harry, and formed a triangle around the young Cloud. One by one, they each stepped forward, fusing with his body with a metallic sound. Harry looked up, and the writhing, transparent Cloud up above floated down with a high-pitched whine. He landed crumpled before Tifa, who knelt next to him.

"Cloud!" she gasped.

"Uh...ah, uh..." Cloud flashed brightly, then loses the transparency in his body. Harry helped him to sit up. "Uh...Tifa...Harry..."

"Oh, Cloud! It's really you, isn't it?" Tifa cried in relief.

Cloud nodded slowly. "Yeah...Tifa...We finally...meet again." He stood up, managing to find his feet on his feet.

Tifa frown suddenly. "You stupid jerk! You had us all worried sick!"

"None more so than you, Tifa," Harry teased. Cloud crumpled to the ground with a grunt.

"Cloud! Are you all right?" Tifa asked.

The sound of the Planet crying roared in their ears, sending shivers down Harry's spine. "V, voice...Their..." Cloud panted.

Harry shook his head. "We're...in the Lifestream, aren't we? Everyone's waiting."

Tifa nodded. "Let's go back, Cloud. Back to everyone..."

Cloud looked up. "Yeah, I guess so...Come on, Tifa. Let's go home..." He stood up again, stronger this time. Harry blinked, and he, Cloud, and Tifa, hands joined, floated upwards through the green of the Lifestream. Harry's eyes were blinded with white light, and when he came to, he found himself lieing on the ground in a demolished Mideel, and their entire party standing over them.

"Yo! You awright!? Tifa? Harry?" Barret asked.

"I think so," Harry grunted, placing a hand on his forehead. "Head aches something fierce, though..."

"Uh..." Tifa grunted, sitting up. "Barret...you came back...I...Cloud...Where is he?"

Barret snickered. "Don't worry about him. He's a tough one..."

"Barret," Tifa called softly. "I...When we were in the Lifestream...we saw the real Cloud."

Harry nodded. "She means, we didn't really find him. Cloud found himself on his own..."

Barret nodded slowly. "Awright...I know. I...shouldn't have doubted him." He shook his head. "But I can't win against you, Tifa. You're some kinda lady."

Tifa laid back down. "People have so many things pent up inside of themselves...And they can forget so many things..."

Harry nodded at Red XIII, smiling sleepily. "Strange, isn't it...?"

"Yo, Tifa! Snap outta it!" Barret called.

The last thing Harry heard from Red XIII's voice saying, "Harry...?"

* * *

Phew. Now that is one looooong chapter.

Harry: No kidding. I'm still tired from that one.

Remus: *chuckling*

Sirius: Oy, what you laughing about, Moony?

He awakes!

Sirius: Huh? I was asleep?

Remus: *patting Sirius on the head* Don't worry about it, Padfoot. Just be a good dog and go back to sleep.

Sirius: *pouts*


	57. Return to Junon

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or FF.

Phew. It's been a while. You guys enjoy your vacation?

Sirius: You bet!

Harry: It was alright. You finally get a job, Cor?

Yup. I'm now a Sandwich Artist at Subway.

Sirius and Harry: *sniggers*

Hey! Don't laugh!

* * *

The whole group, along with the crew of the Highwind, had gathered in the warroom of the airship. Cloud was seated at the head of the table; going to his right, sat Tifa, Barret, Cait Sith, two crew members, and the door, where the third crew member stood. From Cloud's left, sat Harry, Red XIII, and Cid. Cloud took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Everyone...I'm sorry. I don't know what to say..."

"Don't say anything, Cloud," Red said. "All you've been doing is apologizing."

Cloud nodded. "I...never was in SOLDIER. I made up the stories about what happened to me five years ago, about being in SOLDIER. I left my village looking for glory, but never made it into SOLDIER...I was so ashamed of being so weak...

"Then, I heard this story from my friend, Zack...and I created an illusion of myself, made up of what I had seen in my life...and I continued to play the charade as if it were true."

"Illusion, huh...?" Barret mused. "Pretty damn strong for a 'lusion, I'd say."

Cloud nodded. "Right. I'm physically built like someone in SOLDIER. Hojo's plan to clone Sephiroth wasn't that difficult. It was just the same procedure they use when creating members of SOLDIER." He shrugged. "You see, someone in SOLDIER isn't simply exposed to Mako energy. Their bodies are actually injected with Jenova cells...for better or for worse, only the strong can enter SOLDIER. It has nothing to do with the Jenova Reunion. But weak people...like me, get lost in the whole thing."

Cloud looked up, determination displayed upon his face. "The combination of Jenova cells, Sephiroth's strong will, and my own weaknesses are what created me. Everyone knew that. I'm...Cloud." He shook his head sadly. "...The master of my own illusionary world. But, I can't remain trapped in an illsuion any more...I'm going to live my life without pretending."

"You're sure messed up, Cloud!" Tifa giggled.

"That means there ain't no difference from before," Barret agreed, chuckling. Cloud rubbed his head.

"By the way, Cloud," Cait Sith spoke up. "What are you going to do now? Don't tell me you're going to leave the ship?"

"...I'm the reason why Meteor is falling towards us," Cloud nodded. "That's why I have to do everything in my power to fight this thing."

"Good!" Barret declared. "Then you're gonna keep fightin' to save the planet!?"

"It's like you always told me, Barret."

"Oh, uh, you mean that!"

"What?" Red tilted his head. "I don't understand!"

Harry chuckled. "'There ain't no gettin' offa this train we on!'" he quoted, with Cloud and Tifa echoing the words.

The group cheered before moving to the bridge. "Listen, Cloud," Harry beckoned. "We're right in the middle of the mission for the Master Materia. I know this's kinda outta the blue, but there's an underwater reactor at Junon. As far as I know, that's the only one left."

"Alright," Cloud nodded, understanding. "Well then...let's go!"

* * *

Cloud, Harry, Tifa, and Red XIII stepped into Old Junon once more. Harry sighed. "It hasn't changed at all, has it?"

"Nope," Tifa replied. She hailed a villager for news.

"They say Shinra's gathering Huge Materia from around the world and bringing it to Junon," the man said. "Bringing it to Junon...it must mean they want to use their airplanes. I've noticed there's been a lot of Shinra ships recently. I think they're going to the off-shore Underwater Reactor. Isn't Shinra trying to transport the Reactor's Huge Materia?"

"Probably," Cloud agreed. "How do we get down there?"

"I remember years ago," the old man explained, "seein' the Shinra build a long pipe underwater. The underwater reactor is connected to Junon by a pipe. You should be able to get to the reactor through it."

"Thank you," Harry inclined his head, before a sudden shriek made him jump.

"Harry!" Priscilla's voice called out right before he was tackled. "You stupid jerk! Look how much you made me worry! Were you at the Lifestream!?"

Harry shot a glare at his companions, who were laughing loudly. Harry sighed and turned back to the girl. "Yeah, that's right."

"You've gotta be more careful!" Priscilla chided him, finally letting him up. "Because you're going to marry me one day."

Harry face-palmed as the laughter around him doubled again. _Something tells me I'm never going to live this one down..._ he thought.

Later, Cloud and Harry approached the elevator door from opposite sides. With quick movements, the guards were incapicated, and Tifa quickly opened the door, leading everyone inside.

The ride up was accompanied by soft sniggers in Harry's direction. Harry scowled and crossed his arms. When they reached the top, the quartet stepped out onto the main street of Junon. They listened as two guards spoke about the Huge Materia.

"The Shinra's colleting Huge Materia at the Junon Undersea Reactor!" the first guard whispered.

"When they're done, they'll bring it to this airport," the second whispered back. "Get out of here before you get in the way!"

"What, me? I'm gonna be watching from here, so that I don't get in the way either!" the first shot back. "After they get it, they'll take it to the airport and will transport it to the Rocket Town by Gelnika. Don't let your guard down!"

"So that means they've finally started to collect the Huge Materia from the Underwater Reactor?" Harry question in a murmur. Cloud nodded a tentative 'yes.'

Cloud led the way down the street to the the base. They stopped at a junction where, on the path leading down, a red officer stood training a horde of blue grunts. He turned and saw Cloud before bellowing at his subordinates. "All right!! Let's see how hard you trained!!"

Unbeknownst to him, the solders had turned in perfect sync away from the officer, unknowingly putting their backs toward Cloud, Harry, Tifa, and Red. "Attention!" the red officer cried. "Charge!!"

Harry burst out laughing as the grunts followed their superior's order...and charged in the wrong direction. The officer turned and stomped his foot. "He-hey! That's the Underwater Reactor!! Come baaaaack!!" He took off after them.

Cloud shrugged. "And I thought the regular military was bad when I was enlisted."

The quartet made their toward an elevator at the end of the path. A woman stood looking uninterested in one corner; two guards in the rear raise their guns. "How 'bout, whoever stays alive, gets to take her out?" the first bet.

"All right, you're on!!" the second agreed. "But, what if both of us..."

"Whoa!! Don't even talk about that!" the first barked before rushing toward Tifa. The former bartender took a step to the side and bent the man over double with a strong round house kick to his gut, where Red finished him off. The second guard gulped and charged bravely, only to meet his end when Cloud neatly ran his sword through him.

The woman gulped. Harry smirked when he heard her whisper, "Great...there went two perfectly good men!"

They boarded the elevator and rode it down. At the bottom, they encountered two more guards. Cloud quickly smoked one with a fast overhead chop, while Harry slid forward, whipping his sword out and removing the other's head. _Sorry, guy,_ Harry thought, shaking the blood from the shining blade.

The four walked on, finding themselves in a glass tunnel. Outside, they could see a variety of marine life swimming past. "This is pretty neat," Harry remarked. "Someone could take this idea and turn it into a theme park or something."

"What would they call it? 'Sea World'?" Red asked, grinning.

Another elevator ride later, the quartet found themselve in the underwater harbor, where a few Shinra submarines were docked. A huge mechanical arm trolleyed through the huge area, above their heads. They walked on, sneaking past several guards and found an odd machine that held a glowing orb inside a metal case that held a glass viewport on the side facing them. "The Huge Materia!?" Cloud gasped. They watched helplessly as the mechanical arm arrived and lowered into the case, grasping the Materia, and trundling off.

"They're gonna take it on that submarine!" Harry cried.

"That's what they're thinking, anyway," Cloud agreed. They rushed into the next room and found the submarine docked there. Reno stood in front of them, his back toward them.

"Did we make it?" Red asked.

They watched as the arm slowly lowered the Huge Materia into a port on the ship's deck. The porthole closes it inside as Reno called out, "What are you doing? Help load."

"Only if we get to drive," Harry quipped, pulling out his sword.

Reno turned and finally saw who it was. "Cloud!?"

"You know I don't work for cheap," Red XIII remarked.

"Looks like we barely made it," Tifa added.

"Either give it to us or else," Cloud agreed. He gripped his sword handle threateningly. "...Which is it gonna be?"

Reno smirked, shrugging. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to deal with you." A huge, oddly simian robot lumbers out from the shadows. It walked on two mechanical legs that supported the main CPU. Two long arms reached to the side, connected to the top of the control unit, forming a large 'T' shape. "My priority is the Huge Materia. But the Carry Armor, here, can stay and play." He ran off as the machine prepared itself for battle.

"Why do they always run?" Harry complained as he jumped back to avoid getting smacked by one of the Armor's arms. Tifa cast Thundara, immediately going on the offensive and targeting the typical robot weakness to electrical attacks. Red ran forward, dodging past the flailing arms to claw an opening in the armor's outer plating. Cloud dashed in, only to leap back when the machine parried his strike with its arm.

Harry activated his Steal Materia, dashing forward and swiping...nothing. "What? He doesn't have anything!" Harry growled, kicking the robot in annoyance, then again for good measure.

"Look out, kid!" Cloud called, but too late - the Carry Armor's arm swooped down and grasped Harry, picking him up and pinning him in its vice grip.

"Let me down!" Harry called, struggling in vain to get free. He couldn't move his arms at all, meaning both his sword and his materia were useless, and his legs, while free, were dangling. No matter how much Harry kicked, he couldn't reach any part of the machine's arm. To make matters worse, the arms began to swivel around the body of the machine. _Urgh...I think I'm gonna be sick..._ Harry thought.

Red growled, dashing forward and performing his Earth Rave limit break. First, a wave of fire wrapped itself around the CPU of the Carry Armor, scorching the armor plating. Then, the fire suddenly turned into ice, flash-freezing the metal. As the ice quickly melted in the warm room, thunder crackled and lighting struck the CPU, sending several hundred thousand volts through the circuitry. Next, the ground heaved, throwing boulders as large as Barret into the air to crash into the control unit, smashing what was left of the armor into pieces. Finally, a sharp, sheer wind blew through the room, forming blades of empty air that sliced through the exposed wiring of the robot.

The Carry Armor shuddered, but stood fast. The arms stopped swinging, but the one holding Harry captive began to tighten its grip sporadically, often to the point of injury. Harry managed to keep from wincing...most of the time.

"Hold on, kid!" Cloud shouted, leaping up to attack the arm itself. With a resounding clang, the ex-SOLDIER's massive blade tore through the metal. The arm fell, still holding onto Harry, to the floor. When the jolting came to a halt, Harry opened his eyes and found Tifa casting Thundara on the circuit boards, finally destroying the robot. Harry wriggled out of the dead arm's grip and took a deep, steadying breath.

"You okay there, Harry?" Tifa asked.

"I've been worse," Harry quipped. He stretched, wincing at the popping sounds his bones made as they realigned themselves. "Ah..."

"You shouldn't have lost your focus on the robot, kid," Cloud reprimanded.

Harry blushed. "Yeah, well..."

Cloud shook his head in exasperation, then noticed something was...different about the environment. His eyes widened. "Damn! The submarine!"

"We have to go after it!" Tifa cried.

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Let's go," Red nodded. The four rushed across the docking bay, quickly cutting a swath through the bevy of inept Shinra soldiers that attempted to halt their progress. They leapt aboard a submarine and quickly entered the cockpit, Tifa bashing in the heads of the three guards inside and knocking them unconscious.

Cloud glanced around and shuddered. "Someone...please...I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore. The lack of space, the shaking, the roar of the engine..."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, what now? We stole a submarine, but can't pilot it."

Nanaki whapped him with his tail. "Take control of the sub?" he suggested.

Tifa began pushing random buttons, and was rewarded with the engines roaring into life as the sub lurched forward into the ocean. "See? That wasn't so tough!" Nanaki encouraged.

Cloud nodded. "You're right. I do feel a little better driving." He stood up straight before settling into the pilot's seat. "No sweat! Just leave everything to me!"

"You can do it, Cloud!" Tifa cheered.

Harry crossed his arms and smirked. "Just don't crash into anything..."

"Shut up, kid," Cloud grunted, pressing a switch.

A computerized voice announced, "Main screen: ON." The display in front of Cloud flashed, showing the view from the nose of the submarine. It was fairly dark until the camera switched on a F.O.F. system, highlighting the ocean floor and underwater mountains with a dark blue, other ships in red, marine life in green, and the sub carrying the Huge Materia in white.

"This seems easy enough," Cloud commented. "One thing Shinra was always good at, was making ships that were easy to control on a basic, competent level."

* * *

Harry: I thought I was going to be squeezed to death by that Carry Armor.

Sirius: You're made of sterner stuff than that, kiddo.

Cloud: Next time, don't get distracted. There won't always be someone around to save your hide.

Oh, that's real nice, Cloud.

Cloud: I could have been a lot meaner about it.


	58. Life's So Much Funner Under the Sea

This should be an interesting chapter...

Harry: Aren't you forgetting something?

Sirius: Like what?

Nothing. I don't own FF or HP.

Harry: That's better.

* * *

Harry manned the weapons controls while Cloud piloted the sub. Tifa sat at navigation, and Red...just sat.

"Well, I can't manipulate any controls with these," the fire-cat had quipped, sitting on his haunches and holding up his forepaws.

Tifa switched on the sonar while Harry primed the torpedoes. "Okay, so who are we gonna sink first?" the black-haired wizard asked.

Cloud took a deep breath. "Our mission to acquire the Huge Materia," he began, piloting the sub out into open waters. "That sub is our primary target. But feel free to sink any subs that attack us, Harry."

"You got it."

"I have a navigation lock on the Huge Materia," Tifa added, tapping a few buttons in an attempt to highlight the sub on Cloud's viewport. Cloud nodded, and gunned the engine. The engines roared in response, propelling the sub through the ocean waters after their quarry.

Harry's control panel lit up as the torpedoes were finally ready to launch. He quickly scanned the buttons and pushed the TARGET ACQUISITION button. When the reticle locked around the red sub carrying the Huge Materia, Harry glanced at Cloud. "I've got a lock. Shall I launch the torpedoes?" Harry barely resisted the urge to add 'sir' to the end of his question.

"Don't even ask, kid," Cloud replied. "Fire at will."

This time, Harry's humor escaped. "Yes, sir!" he saluted, before launching the first torpedo amid Tifa's giggles.

Cloud watched as the torpedo appeared on his viewscreen, streaking toward its target. The red sub, it seemed, detected the launch, and began turning in an attempt to elude the incoming warhead.

It was a narrow miss.

Harry didn't waste any time firing the second torpedo. By that time, however, back-up for the red submarine had appeared. "There are two contacts coming up at two o'clock!" Tifa announced.

Harry quickly shifted the target lock and fired a torpedo. He grinned when it crashed into the first sub, ripping it in two and sending it to the bottom of the sea. He locked onto the other and fired again, but it was already swerving away by the time the weapon left the launch tube.

"That second torpedo damaged the red sub, buying a little more time," Tifa said. "It's crippled, but still able to move. Another hit should finish it!"

"Right," Harry nodded, switching back to the red sub. Suddenly, Cloud brought the sub into a swift climb, swinging the nose of the ship up and dodging a torpedo.

"Sorry," he smirked as Harry shot him a scowl, climbing back up into his seat.

"No, you're not," Harry shot back, reacquiring his target lock on the red sub.

"You're right. I'm not," Cloud quipped, watching Harry's latest torpedo streak through the water and crashing into the red sub. "Nice shot."

"It helped that they lost most of their manueverability," Harry sniffed irritably. The third sub seemed to be disenheartened at their failure, and Harry punished them for it with a torpedo to their midsection.

"Phew...anyway, we did it," Cloud announced. "The Huge Materia should be at the bottom of the sea by now. Let's continue the search..."

The radio suddenly emitted a blare of static, then emits a voice. "All Shinra Submarine Units, do you read? All Shinra Submarine Units, do you read?"

There was a pause. "Hmm? Must be from Shinra," Red reasoned.

"Report, No. 2..."

"No. 2?" Tifa mused. "Oh! I saw that written at the dock! They must mean this sub!"

"All right, I'll do it," Harry volunteered. He gripped the mic at the comms panel and pressed the TALK button. "This is Shinra No. 2...Everything down here is fine." He paused. "How...how are you doing?"

Cloud and Tifa face-palmed, while Nanaki snorted and rolled his eyes.

The voice on the radio seemed surprised. "R-Roger...Your next mission is...Return to Junon Dock. We will transport the Huge Materia from the airport...Those without other assignments will report for guard duty...That is all. Over and out..."

Harry flipped the comms system off. "It was a boring conversation anyway."

"God help us," Cloud moaned. He sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Junon Airport...We should make it if we hurry." He flipped a switch, activating some mechanical arm on the exterior of the sub, which quickly extraced the Huge Materia from the sunken sub. Red sped off to retrieve it as Cloud nodded. "We'lre climbing!"

"The airport?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "No sweat!"

"Hey, can't we radio the Highwind and get the others to the airport for us?" Tifa suggested.

Cloud thought it over. "That's a good idea. Ring them up, kid."

Harry fiddled with the comms controls, hoping he'd reach the Highwind and not someone else by mistake. "Come in, Highwind, come in...?"

"Hey!" Cid's voice rang loud and clear. "When did y'all get a radio?"

"We hijacked a Shinra submarine," Cloud responded.

Cid's laughter boomed from the speakers. "Oh-hoo! That's great. You'll have to tell me the story later. Whatcha need?"

"Can you and the others get to Junon Airport for us? It seems the Shinra have a Huge Materia and will be taking off shortly," Nanaki requested.

"Sure thing. Leave it to me!" Cid replied. "Over and out."

"That's that, then," Cloud breathed. "Let's get outta here."

* * *

'Cid,' 'Barret,' and 'Cait Sith' stared gobsmacked as the airplane Gelnika took off from the strip. "Oh no! The Huge Materia!" 'Barret' cried.

"Can't they go after it?" Ron asked.

"Where's that thing headed?" Cid questioned.

"Rocket Town, of course," Hermione and Caith sith said at the same time.

"Creepy," Ron muttered.

Tonks rolled her eyes, then nudged Remus in the ribs. The old werewolf grunted and shifted about in his chair, but didn't wake up. Tonks poked him again, but received the same response. "He sure is a sound sleeper, eh?"

Back on the screen, everyone gathered on the bridge of the airship as it flew toward Rocket Town. "So, Hermione, do you think Harry will be going into outer space?" Ron asked.

"It's a possibility," she answered. "Especially if that Huge Materia is already on a rocket headed for that incoming meteor."

"I don't think it will work, though," Ginny added.

"Of course not," Tonks jumped in. "If it did, what would the heroes of the story do? Sit back on a beach and drink beer?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Shacklebolt quipped.

* * *

And another appearance by Harry's friends back in London.

Harry: You don't include them much.

Well, there isn't a whole lot of action going on there. Mostly, they're just sitting and watching you run around on the screen.

Vivi: Al-alright, I'm here!

*Cor blinks* Uh, Vivi, you're...early. Really, really early.

Vivi: S-Sorry!

Don't worry about it. You can go play games or something.

Vivi: Cool!

Sirius: He is a wierd little guy, isn't he? A good lad, but wierd.


	59. Space Cowboys

I don't own FF or HP. If did, I'm sure I could have come up with a better ending than 'Nineteen years later...'

Harry: Eh?

Sirius: Haven't you read your own books, Harry?

Harry: No, I was too busy living it to read about myself.

That's certainly true. Most of the last book was cMFFRPHGFG!

Hermione: *had put her hand over Cor's mouth* No spoilers!

* * *

Cloud, Harry, Cid, and Barret ran into town, pushing through the onlooking inhabitants towards the rocket, where mechanics were rushing around and steam was billowing from the engines.

They stopped for a moment. Cid gaped, "The Shinra are serious 'bout launghing that piece of shit rocket!? But why now...?"

"They brought the Huge Materia here..." Harry mused. "Wonder if they think the rocket will reach Meteor?"

Cloud frowned. "They're going to try and blow Meteor apart with the Huge Materia?"

They were spotted by Shinra guards, one of whom shouted, "Those terrorists are here!" Barret quickly gunned them down before any more alarm could be raised.

"Go on ahead," Barret motioned them. "I'll keep ever'-one back from teh rocket."

Cloud nodded. "Thanks Barret." He, Cid, and Harry climbed up onto the launch platform, Cloud disemboweling the few guards that stood in their way.

Cid caught one guard's sword on his spear, then flicked him off the platform. "Goddamit, what the hell do they think they're gonna do to my rocket!?" He looked furious. "I'm outta here, Cloud! I'm gonna kick those effin' Shinra right out of my rocket!"

Rude stepped forward, flanked by two guards. "...you again?" he asked rhetorically. He tightened his gloves. "...We will eliminate everyone who gets in Shinra's way." He dashed forward and sent a blindingly fast punch at Cloud, who fell back. Cid charged forward, lunging with his spear, only to have Rude flip over it and land a solid kick to the old pilot's face. Harry rolled under a sword slash from the guards, coming upright behind them and stealing an Elixir from each before cutting the back of their knees with his sword. They crumpled to the ground, incidentally falling upon each other's blades.

Harry grimaced sheepishly. "Whoops...?"

Rude snorted, throwing a one-two jab at Harry, who stepped back, avoiding the punches before retaliating with a sword slash. Rude jumped back, only to catch the flat of Cloud's massive blade with his side. "Oof....they got us..." Rude grunted before he was sent careening over the edge of the platform to the ground below.

Cid growled. "Damn right we did." The trio entered the rocket proper, finding another guard.

"You...you! Why are you here? Rude of the Turks should've been here!!"

Harry pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Too bad. Those guys are out there."

"Oh man..." the guard groaned. "The Turks...being done in like that...But, I won't let you through!"

"You don't have a choice," Cloud remarked, reaching forward and gripping the soldier by his collar. He spun and bodily threw the guard out of the rocket (much to Cid's approval).

Cid led Cloud and Harry into the control room, where Cid's mechanics scurried about, fixing and adjusting various doodads. "Hey! What the hell're you guys doin'!?"

The mechanics stopped for a moment to look at Cid. "Hey! Just when I thought somethin' was goin' on, you came back!" one of them declared. "Listen to me, Captain. We're gonna launch this rocket!"

"Huh?" Cid asked. "What are you talkin' 'bout?"

"We're gonna load a Materia bomb in this and blow up Meteor," the first mechanic explained.

"Our rocket's gonna save the planet!" the second cheered.

Not to be left out, the final mechanic nodded. "Urggh. Man, this is so COOL!"

"Wait a minute!" Cloud reached forward, only to be shoved back by Cid.

"Shut up!! Just shut the hell up, Cloud!" the old pilot bellowed. Cloud shrugged defensively. Cid turned back to the mechanics. "How's the rocket?"

The first mechanic shrugged as the other two got back to work. "It's pretty much OK, but...We planned to run it into Meteor on Auto-Pilot, but the most important device is broken."

"Broken? How's the repair goin'?" Cid asked.

"Shera's doin' it..."

Cid laughed sardonically. "Oh great! What a buncha wizards you guys are! She's gonna take a hundred years!" His laughter died down. "I'm gonna take over, so don't worry about the Auto-Pilot! Go tell everyone."

The mechanics nodded and saluted. "All right, Captain. Good luck." They left.

Harry spoke up. "Um, Cid? What are you doing?"

Cid turned to him as Cloud added, "There are generations of knowledge and wisdom inside the Materia. We're gonna borrow their powers and save the planet from Sephiroth. There's no way that we can lose the Huge Materia. You understand that, right?"

Harry smirked at Cloud. "I thought you didn't care about all that?"

"Shut it, kid."

Cid shook his head. "Yeah, I understand. I understand that Materia is precious, and I also understand what you're thinking. But listen...I don't give a rat's ass whether it's science or magical power..." He nodded. "No...I guess if I had to choose, I'd rather put my money on the power of science. Humans who used to only roam around on the ground are now able to fly! And finally, we're about to go into outer space! Science is a 'Power' created and developed by humans. And science just might be what saves this planet." He raised a fist. "I was able to earn my living thanks to science. So, to me, there's nothing greater!"

Cid lowered his fist. "Now, quit your worrying 'bout what Shinra's gonna do! I don't want to regret not having done something later."

Cloud reached forward again. "But, Cid..."

Cid shoved him away. "Shut the hell up! I don't wanna hear it!" He hitched his pants up. "Alright! Time to get back to work! Anyone who ain't involved, get the hell outta here!"

At that moment, there was a loud rumbling as the engines ignited. Cid looked around, startled. "What the hell...? What the hell happened!?"

Palmer's voice came in over the radio. "Hey-hey!"

Harry crossed his arms, frowning. "I thought he was hit by a truck?"

"Palmer! What the hell did'ya do!?" Cid bellowed into the radio.

"They said they finished repairing the Auto-Pilot. So, I laun---ched it!"

Harry blinked. "What...!?"

"Goddamn Shera! Why'd she pick today to get fast!?" Cid punched some buttons on the control panel. "DAMN! Won't even budge! It's completely locked up!"

"Hey-hey-hey! Almost lift off!" Palmer giggled.

"What the!? No countdown?! It just don't seem the same without it!" Cid protested.

"It doesn't matter! Get strapped in before we get tossed around like rag dolls!" Cloud bellowed, strapping himself in to a chair. Harry and Cid followed suit as the rocket began to lift off. Harry could envision everything not nailed down being blown away by the exhaust of the engines as they blasted off into space before he briefly passed out.

When Harry came to, they were floating eerily in the zero gravity of outer space. Cid scratched his head. "I finally made it...outer space..." He glanced at the controls. "Let's see, how's the course set...?" He tapped a few buttons as a depiction of the rocket's course appears on the monitor. A dotted line travels from the green circle of the planet to the red circle of Meteor. Cid nodded. "Yup, it's headed for a collision course with Meteor."

Harry unbuckled himself and floated up. "Can't we do something? If it goes on, we're...."

Cid pressed more buttons. A red message appeared on the screen, causing the pilot to kick the panel and curse as he inadvertantly sent himself flying back into the back wall of the control room. "That Palmer went outta his way to lock the Auto-Pilot device. We can't change the course."

"...This is the end?" Cloud muttered.

Cid turned to him and smacked the blonde upside the back of his head. "The Hell're you sayin'? You're still young, and you give up that easily!?" He shook his head. "I'm not gonna crash into Meteor. Just watch." He tapped a few red buttons. "I keep an Escape Pod on the rocket just for emergencices like this." He turned a dial on one wall. "I deciphered the lock code on the Escape Pod. We'll bail right before we crash into Meteor."

"And the Huge Materia?" Harry asked.

Cid nodded. "If you want the Materia, do whatever you want!" He pointed at a ladder next to the dial he turned. "The Materia should be there after you climb that ladder."

Cloud asked, "...You sure?"

Cid shook his head. "I dunno...I know what I said a minute ago." He shrugged. "But maybe...all that I really wanted was just to go into outer space..."

"Wish granted," Harry quipped, "but now we're about to crash headlong into Meteor."

Cid chuckled. "So, why don't y'all do whatever you think is right?"

Cid was right. The Huge Materia was sitting in a glass case in the center of a small room at the top of the ladder. "I finally found the Huge Materia," Cloud breathed. He seemed to be gazing in awe at the large, irregularly shaped Materia.

Cid came up behind him, breaking the merc out of his reverie. "It's structured so that the lock can be opened if we enter the passcode from this control panel."

Harry knelt at the panel. "So, what order am I supposed to enter the passcode in?" He was looking at the four buttons that, for some reason, displayed four random shapes - an X, a square, a triangle, and a circle.

"I dunno," Cid shrugged. "Just try and punch in the code randomly."

Harry rolled his eyes and punched the buttons in a random order. A red warning light began flashing as a computerized voice announced, "Passcode error. Unauthorized User Identified. Protection System will activate in three minutes."

"Seems like you missed the code!" Cid laughed.

"Brilliant observation there, Merlin," Harry shot back.

"If we don't enter the correct passcode before the Protection System activates, we won't be able to get the Materia back!" Cloud cried. He gently (for him) shoved Harry aside and smashed the buttons, accidentally hitting the 'X' button twice. The light flickered off.

"Passcode confirmed. Identified as an Authorized User. Unlocked."

The glass case opened. "Alright, Cloud. It's unlocked," Cid announced.

"Not a bad job, Spiky," Harry quipped as he reached in and grabbed the Huge Materia. "Now, let's get the frack out of here!"

* * *

Hermione and Ron were watching as the trio on the screen flew down the corridor toward the escape pods. As they passed a row of oxygen tanks, one of the tanks sparked. That was all the warning given before the screen went white as it exploded. The screen flashed to presumably Shera, who was working on some repairs in the next room, looked toward the sound of the explosion and pulled herself along the hall toward it.

"Oh, my..." Ginny gasped. Cid's leg was pinned under a massive piece of metal, which had pierced the flooring on both sides of the pilot, but had miraculously missed injuring him.

Harry and Cloud came into view. "Grrgh! Damn! My leg's stuck in the debris!" Cid grunted.

"Cid?" Harry asked. He and Cloud began trying to lift the metal. "Phew! It's so heavy..."

"Don't worry 'bout me," Cid ordered. "Hurry up and go! If you don't hurry, the rocket's gonna crash into Meteor!"

Cloud looked at Cid and, in perhaps the most serious tone of voice Harry had ever heard the blonde speak in, replied, "...I can't go without my friends."

"You shithead!" Cid grunted. "No time to worry 'bout other people!"

"It's a hero thing, Cid. You wouldn't understand," Harry panted.

Cid snorted in amusement. "You're stupid. You're really fucking stupid." He looked over at the destroyed tank and sighed, covering his face with a hand. "Tank Number 8 blew up...so Tank Number 8...really was malfunctioning..." He looked up at the ceiling, ignoring Cloud and Harry's efforts to free him. "Shera...you were right...But...this is the end for me..."

A door opened at the end of the room. "Don't say that, Cid."

"Huh!?" Ron blinked as the woman came onto the screen from the foreground.

"Huh!? Shera!?" Cid unknowingly echoed the red head's sentiments.

Shera seemed to grin. "I tagged along. I'm coming to help you." She bent down and began helping Cloud and Harry to lift the metal off Cid.

"You stupid motherfucker...." the old pilot grunted. As the metal finally came loose, he softly added, ".....Sorry..."

Tonks let out a sigh. "I think he's finally learning not to doubt what women are capable of," she joked.

Remus smirked. "What women 'are capable of'? Tonks, that's the most feministic thing I've ever heard you say."

Tonks swatted the old werewolf playfully. "Watch it, buster, or I'll show you exactly what we can do."

Remus couldn't resist. "I daresay it won't be much."

Before the werewolf could dodge away, Tonks had tackled him and began a tickling session that would leave the old wolf begging for mercy.

"Leave them to it," Ginny suggested, turning back to the television. "They'll be there for hours, anyway."

Ron sighed. "And when they get like that...there's not much we can do to get their attention."

Hermione thought quickly. "Can't we just...lock them in a broom cupboard or something?"

Ginny blinked at Hermione. "Uh...we tried that. They apparated out."

"Oh..."

* * *

Shera lead Cloud, Harry, and Cid to an escape pod. "Hurry. I'm going to detach the pod."

Cid hopped into the pod. "Hey Shera! Does this pod really fly?"

Shera nodded. "It'll be OK. I've been checking it till now."

Cid rubbed the back of his head. "Then........I'm relieved."

Shera looked down, blushing. "...Thanks."

The quartet strapped themselves in before Shera pressed the EJECT button. The pod tumbled away from the rocket, and Cid's gaze was glued to the viewport. "So this is...outer space...Man...it's the real thing...I'm really here in outer space..." As the pod rotated and fell back toward the planet, the rocket came back into view for minute. "So long...Shinra No. 26..."

The sphere was enshrouded with flames as it reentered the atmosphere. A blinding flash of light erupted as the rocket collided with Meteor, the explosion sending a shockwave through space and pushing the small escape pod towards the planet with even greater speed.

Minutes pass in silence. Just before they entered the atmosphere proper, the viewport showed them a glance of the damage to Meteor the rocket had done. "Damn..." someone whispered.

Meteor...was still screaming towards the planet. The rocket had indeed done a tremendous amount of damage to Meteor's face, even without the Huge Materia, but it had not been near enough to stop it completely. Piece of rock floated around Meteor, creating electrical surges along the dry stone, and when the tiny shards of Meteor smacked into each other, there was a small explosion of flame and dust. And then...the sky outside the viewport turned blue, the flames licking the outside of the escape pod dispersed, and they plummeted towards the ocean, the only sounds they could hear being the parachutes deploying to slow their descent enough to splash down safely...

* * *

Hermione: So Harry, what was it like up in outer space?

Harry: *shrugged* Not much different from down on the planet, actually. The only real difference, really, was that we were floating in the lack of gravity.

Hermione: *looked disappointed.* Really...?

Sirius: Still...imagine all the fun games you could play in zero gravity...*waggled his eyebrows.*

*Cor smacks his forehead.* Urgh, Sirius! Keep the innuendoes to yourself, if you please! We _do_ have children possibly reading this, you know!

Sirius: So?

....I'm going to pretend I didn't hear him say that...


	60. That Someone Is Us

Harry: Finally coming back, huh?

Sorry. World of Warcraft sucked me in...among other things.

Sirius: World of What-craft?

A computer game, Padfoot. You wouldn't understand, you wizardly wizard, you.

* * *

Everyone had gathered on the bridge of the Highwind once the crew had swooped in to pick Cloud, Harry, Cid, and Shera up from the escape pod. Barret, Cloud, and Tifa stared out the window at the clouds passing by below. Cid and Cait Sith were scowling at each other (Harry wasn't sure why), and Nanaki was staring into empty space, lost in thought.

"...Rufus and the others' plan was a failure..." Cloud said, rather unnecessarily.

"What a bust..." Barret remarked. "But...I kinda hoped it'd work."

Cait slumped. "We been botherin' them as much as we can...but there ain't no other way...Wonder if we've been wrong all this time?"

"It makes you worry, doesn't it?" Red asked, blinking once and focusing his eye on them.

"A bit, yeah," Harry agreed.

Tifa huffed, rather suddenly, and put her hands on her hips. "Don't worry! Think!"

Cid blinked, then stepped forward. "Hey! The girl's right. You start worryin' and there's no stoppin' it! Things just start fallin' apart and get worse and worse."

Barret turned to him, thrusting his fist in the air half-heartedly. "You're pretty damn optimistic! You up to somethin'?"

Cid shrugged. "Yeah, I been thinkin' about this and that. All the time we been up there lookin' at the planet. I been thinkin', even when we were floatin' in the ocean in that escape pod."

Cloud turned to face them, turning from the window. "I've been thinking, too. About the universe...planet...ocean. How wide and big...No matter where I go and what I do, it won't change a thing."

Cid shook his head at the blonde. "Maybe you're right." Cloud nodded and turned back to the window. "But I came up with something different." He sucked in a breath, glancing at them all. "I always thought this planet was so huge...but lookin' at it from space, I realized it's so small..." The old pilot looked at Barret. "We're just floatin' in the dark...kind of makes you feel powerless...And on top of that, it's got Sephiroth festerin' inside it like a sickness." Cid shook his head. "That's why...I say this planet's still a kid. A little kid sick and trembling in the middle of this huge universe." He glanced at Tifa and Red, tapping his foot. "Someone's gotta protect it. Ya follow me? That someone...is us."

"Cid...that's beautiful," Tifa whispered.

"Yo! Cid! You even got to me!" Barret agreed.

Harry nodded. "Nobody could have said it better. So...now what? How _are_ we going to protect the planet from Meteor?

Cid glanced at Cait, then Red, then Tifa, and finally Harry before scratching his head, sitting on the floor, leaning against the control panel. ".......I'm still thinkin' about that one," he admitted at last, somewhat embarrassed.

The admission brought an uneasy silence among the bridge...until Nanaki leapt forward, next to Cid. "Huh? Did you...hear something?"

Harry frowned. "Now that you mention it..." There was a slight, barely noticeable cry of unearthly pain.

Tifa shivered. "The planet's scream...or Meteor...? Is it this planet?"

Cloud looked thoughtful. "Hey...how do we know that this is really the planet's scream?"

Harry snorted, reaching over and cuffing the blonde on the back of his head. "Did you forget? Bugenhagen told us." He received a nod in return.

Red's eye lit up. "Let's go see Grandfather! To Cosmo Canyon! I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something that will be helpful!"

Surprisingly enough, it didn't take Cid long to pilot the Highwind to a nice, flat landing area just outside the entrance to Red XIII's hometown. The doorman (gate sentry?) met them at the...well, at the gate. "Oh, it's you." He appeared stressed. "This is terrible. The color of that unlucky star...the children are all so scared that they won't even go outside...Can't blame 'em, I'd rather not see it either."

Red's tail gently patted the man's elbow as they passed, hurrying up to Bugenhagen's observatory, where the man in question was waiting for them. "Ho ho hoooo. If you are ever in need of my wisdom, you are always welcome here."

Harry nodded. "That's why we came."

Bugenhagen hopped up and down for a moment. "What to do, hrm? Have you lost your way? When that happens, we each have to take a good long look at ourselves. There's always something in the deepest reaches of our hearts. Something buried, or perhaps, forgotten. Remember it...Whatever that is, must certainly be what you are all looking for..."

Cloud scoffed. "That's easy enough to say...But, I can't remember a thing."

Bugenhagen nodded. "It must be there. Look harder!"

Cait Sith shook his furry cat head sadly. "Nope. Not a thing. Naw. Can't come up with anything."

Harry looked down. "I...remember Aeris a lot."

Cloud shook his head. "No, not that. You haven't remembered...because you haven't forgotten. That's not it...How would you say it...Aeris was right there, all along. Right by our side. She was so close, we couldn't see her. What Aeris did, the words she left behind..."

Tifa brightened somewhat, adding, "That reminds me...I was the same."

Nanaki nodded. "As was I." This was accompanied by a general agreement from everyone.

"She said that she was the only one who could stop Sephiroth's Meteor," Harry commented. "But...Aeris is gone."

"Is it impossible for us to carry on...what Aeris tried to accomplish?" Red asked.

"We ain't no Ancients, if that's what ya mean!" Barret grunted.

Cid spat his cigarette out, stamping out the flames. "What, did that girl go off to that place?"

Cloud's head snapped up. "That's it!"

"What's it?" the pilot huffed, pulling another cigarette.

"We don't know about it," Cloud answered. "What did Aeris know? Why did she face Sephiroth without running away?"

Nanaki closed his eye for a moment, before opening it to gaze at Cloud. "I see...She returned there once again, correct?"

Bugenhagen appeared delighted. "Hmm...Perhaps I'll have you take me there?"

Harry blinked. Red was gob-smacked. "You're going too!?"

Bugenhagen chuckled. "What's so surprising about that? Even I want to get out from time to time and see the outside world. I wonder what did it? I haven't felt like this in ages."

"It must be the planet," Harry quipped, only half-joking. "The planet is calling you."

Cid puffed his new cigarette. "Yeah. Hoo boy, the planet calling...right." He stepped out, presumably back to the Highwind.

Bugenhagen bounced rather childishly. "Ho ho hooo...Then, let's go."

"Before that..." Harry started.

Cloud finished. "Oh yeah. Bugenhagen, I have one more thing I want to ask you. We're carrying around some Huge Materia...This is pretty delicate stuff. We would like to keep it in a safe place..."

"Ho ho hooo," Bugenhagen nodded. "Then we'll put it upstairs. Now, shall we be on our way?"

"Anxious to leave, much?" Harry asked while Cloud deposited the Huge Materia in Bugenhagen's observatory.

Bugenhagen smirked at the wizard, laughing in good humor. "You'd want to take a vacation, too, after spending many years cooped up in that old observatory."

* * *

Phew. But it's nice to know I've still got it.

Sirius: Got what? What's 'it'?

Remus: Something a wizardly wizard like you wouldn't understand, Padfoot.

Harry: *smirking* Maybe when you're older.

Sirius: Oi! I'm plenty old!

You said it, not me.


	61. Holy,,,!

You know, I think I might try to finish Disc 2 before going on my vacation.

Sirius: Oh? Where ya going?

Alaskan cruise.

Harry: *whistles* Sounds nice.

It does.

* * *

Harry, Red, and Bugenhagen stood outside the warroom of the Highwind. "Hm, hm, hmm!" the wizened old man chuckled. "Smells like machinery. I love this smell." He looked at Harry and Red. "Of course, I also love the smell of nature, too."

Red commented, "The deck is right up these stairs, Grandfather."

Bugenhagen smiled. "Is that so? Then I'll be up on the deck, just passing the time. I can feel the workings of the planet in the smell of the wind. I'll also feel the greatness of man's wisdom and knowledge in the smell of machinery...Well, bye for now." With that, Bugenhagen floated up onto the deck.

"Try not to get blown off by the wind!" Harry called in jest, receiving a wave in response.

Red XIII followed Harry up to the bridge in time to hear Cait Sith say, "I went an' told Aeris' mom about her death." The stuffed cat paused. "Miss Elmyra was cryin' herself silly...so was little Marlene..."

Barret nodded grimly. "And Aeris...she's dead. Guess she turned into spiritual energy and returned to the planet, huh? But even if she did, there's no way we'll meet her again..."

"I wond what Aeris felt..." Tifa mused, "when she was on that altar?"

"I'm sure she wanted to give her life for the planet," Cloud replied solemnly.

"Really? I wonder..." Harry spoke up, surprising them all. "I don't think that's it at all. I think she didn't think she would die at all, but that she planned on coming back all along. She always used to talk about the 'next time,' remember? She talked about the future more than any of us."

Nanaki seemed to blush. "Aeris used to pat me on the nose sometimes. I used to hate being treated like a child like that, but I also liked the attention....I wanted to apologize to her for what I did when we first met."

"I'm sure she forgave you not long afterwards, Red XIII," Tifa reassured him.

"Here we are, landing outside the City of the Ancients," the now more-confident pilot announced, setting the Highwind down gently between the canyon walls.

"Well, let's go see what there is to see," Cid remarked.

It didn't take Harry, Red, Cloud, Bugenhagen, and Barret long to enter the city and locate a small shrine they had passed over during their first visit. The shrine was a clear blue crystal, beautiful and pure. "Wow..."

"This is..." Bugenhagen nodded, floating over to the shrine. "Yes, exactly..."

"Are you getting something?" Cloud asked.

"Give me a moment..." They gathered around the central altar of the shrine. "The knowledge of the Ancients swirling around here is telling me one thing." Everyone looked at Bugenhagen. "The planet's in a crisis."

"Hell, we know that!" Barret interrupted.

Bugenhagen shook his head. "A crisis beyond human power or endless time. It says, when the time comes, we must search for 'Holy.'"

"Holy?" Cloud repeated.

"Holy...the ultimate White Magic. Magic that might stand against Meteor," Bugenhagen explained. "Perhaps...our last hope to save the planet from Meteor. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear."

Harry mused. "So, what, in order for Aeris to summon Holy, she had to die?"

"Not necessarily," Bugenhagen chuckled at the younger ones' dramatics. "There are many connotations of 'reaching the planet,' after all. Ho, ho, hoooo....But yes, with Holy, Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear." He leaned in conspiratorially toward them. "Perhaps, even ourselves."

"Even us!?" Cloud barked, surprised.

"It is up to the planet to decide," Bugenhagen nodded. "What is best for the planet, what is bad for the planet. All that is bad will disappear. That is all." He bounced on his floating orb. "Ho, ho, hooo...I wonder which we humans are?"

There was a moment of silence at this, before Cloud spoke up. "Search for Holy...How do we do it?"

Bugenhagen looked up, seemingly at the sky overhead. "Speak to the planet. Get the White Materia...This will bond the Planet to humans." He nodded. "Then speak to the planet. If our wish reaches the planet, the White Materia will begin to glow a pale green."

Cloud slumped. "...Then, this is the end. Aeris had the White Materia...but when Aeris died, it fell from the altar. That's why..." But Harry interrupted him.

"You mean this...right?" Harry held up a softly glowing, pale-green Materia. "When Aeris died...it started to fall into the water...But, I caught it before it went out of reach." Cloud, Barret, and Red stared at him incredulously. "....What?"

"It's glowing..." Cloud whispered.

"Ho ho hooo! It's a pale green!" Bugenhagen added.

Cloud scratched the back of his head. "Aeris. Aeris had already prayed for Holy...After I gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth, Aeris' words came into my dreams...She said, she was the only one who could stop Sephiroth...and to do that, there was a secret here...That was Holy. That's why, she had the White Materia. Aeris knew about here, and what she had to do. Aeris...has left us great hope. But, it cost her, her life...her future...

"I'm sorry...Aeris. I should have figured this out sooner."

Harry looked up at the crystal, as though it was Aeris herself. "You left us without saying a word."

Cloud nodded. "It was all so sudden, so I couldn't think...That's why it took so long for me to find out...But...I understand now. I'll do the rest."

Barret reached over and cuffed the blonde. "You mean, WE...."

Harry nodded. "The flower girl left for us a big gift...It'd be sad if we didn't finish it!"

Cloud looked at them, nodding, then looked up once more. "Thank you...Aeris...Her voice has already reached the Planet. Just look at the glow of the White Materia...But, how about Holy? How come Holy isn't moving? Why?" He shook his head, confused.

"Something's getting in its way," Bugenhagen supplied.

Harry nodded. "Him..."

"He's the only one that could do it," Cloud agreed. "...Sephiroth...where are you?"

The PHS rang. "What the?" Cloud jumped, before answering.

"...Sorry, I was a little surprised," Cait Sith replied.

"What happened?"

"You remember when the Junon Cannon disappeared? Actually, Rufus moved it."

"Moved it?" Harry repeated. "That big thggn? Where...? Why...? ..._How_?"

Cait Sith paused over the PHS. "Rufus wants to destroy Sephiroth with it. That cannon operates on Huge Materia. But, the Huge Matera has already been 'used' in the Rocket Plan. So, since the cannon's useless right now, he decided to move it. To a place where Materia...no, where Mako is gathered..."

"And, where is that?" Barret asked.

* * *

"...That's why, Reeve. It's your job to adjust the reactor's output," the white-clad Rufus explained to the sharply-dressed Reeve on the screen.

Reeve looked away. "I see..."

The blonde woman in the cocktail dress laughed. "Don't worry about adjusting it, Reeve!" She punched the air. "Once you open it up all the way, everything will go full speed!"

Ron looked sick. "I'm sorry, but that woman is creepy."

Ginny shook her head. "She's not as bad as that Heidegger," she disagreed.

The afore-mentioned rotund man laughed as well. "Gya ha! The President's sure done it this time! If we can only defeat Sephiroth, the idea that Meteor will also disappear is based on different objectives!"

Hermione scrunched her face, as she tried working out the logic. "How does that work...?"

Scarlet waggled her finger at Rufus. "Please remember, Mr. President! It was my idea to fire Mako reactor powered shells.

Rufus brushed a stray hair from his forehead. "Will the shells really reach the northern border?"

"Ah, hah hah! Of course!" Scarlet explained matter-of-factly. "But, Mr. President, please do not call it a Mako cannon...This new weapon will be called..." She sweeps her arms. "The Sister Ray!" With that pronouncement, the screen faded to black.

"Wow...if that cinematic cutscene showing off that big cannon is any indication," Ron began. "Then anything it fires at...won't exist anymore."

"Bigger is not always better, Ron," Remus remarked.

"Maybe not," Ginny added diplomatically. "But...you can't deny that if that cannon thing goes off...there won't be much left of anything where the shell hits."

Hermione was still puzzling over how defeating one man could stop a comet.

* * *

*Cor cracks his knuckles.* Hrm. I think that's it for today.

Hermione: Cor, how can you stop a meteor from slamming into the earth...by defeating one man?

....Realistically? Would never happen. But, you know, Final Fantasy 7 is a video game. It doesn't have to make realistic sense.

Harry: He's got you there, 'Mione.


	62. The Problem with Weapons

Whew! Writing while on an airplane is so different from writing at home on the ground.

Harry: You're surprised by this...how?

I'm not, really. It's more cramped, for one thing.

Sirius: ...What's an are-plane?

Harry: _Air_plane, Sirius.

It's a muggle machine. Some what like a broom, but _much_ bigger - enough to hold upwards of a couple hundred passengers.

Sirius: Wow.

* * *

Harry stumbled to his knees behind Cloud outside the Highwing. "Wh, what the...!?"

"Alright, kid?" Cloud asked, pulling the wizard to his feet.

"I'm fine," Harry replied. "C'mon, let's get to the bridge and see what's going on."

"Right." Cloud lead him up to the bridge, where a red warning light was flashing harshly. "What's wrong?"

"It's a strange signal!" one of the pilots shouted.

"From where?" Cid asked.

The pilots glanced at Cait Sith. "It's coming from this...person?"

Cait Sith raised the stuffed moogle's arms up into the air as the pilots returned to the controls. "Wow!" He hopped over to Cloud, Harry, Barret, Cid, Tifa, and Nanaki. "Hey!" He did a short wild dance as the light continued to flash, slowly becoming steady again. "That was a surprise, the controls went crazy." He paused, scratching behind his left ear. "This ain't good...Weapon came out of the sea and is heading straight for Midgar."

"The new weapon should stop him, right?" Cloud questioned.

"Aye, it would at that," the cat agreed. "...But, I don't know if it's ready or not..."

Barret surged forward. "Hey! What's gonna happen to Marlene!?"

"Don'cha worry none, Marlene's in a safe place. She's with Aeris' mama," Cait answered. Barret turned away, scratching an itch on his face. Cait bounded up to him. "Barret! What was that scratching just now!? 'As long as Marlene is safe, who cares what else happens,' right?" He slumped. "Ya know, I been itchin' to say this to ya fer a while now!"

Cait Sith pumped his arms madly at Barret. "When ya blew the Midgar No. 1 up, how many folks d'ya think died?"

Barret considered his words carefully. "...That was for the life of the planet. Ya gotta expect a few casualties."

Cait Sith turned away. "'A few'? Whaddya mean 'a few'? What may be 'a few' to y'all is everything to them who died..." He turned back to Barret, who was staring out the window. "'Protect the planet.' Hah! Y'all sure sound good! Ain't no one that'd go against ya. So, ya think ya can do whatever y'all want?"

Barret spun to face the stuffed cat. "I don't wanna hear that from no one in Shinra!"

Cait slumped back down as Barret turned back to the window and muttered, "...Nuthin' I can do 'bout that..."

"Stop it!" Harry growled, surprising them all.

Tifa nodded in agreement, further stunning them. "Cait Sith...Barret, he knows what he did. What we did in Midgar...can't be forgotten. No matter what the reason." She nodded again for emphasis. "Right? We haven't forgotten, right?" She faced Cait Sith directly. "I know you. You can't quit the company because you're worried about the people in Midgar, right?"

Cloud nodded. "...Ok! Let's go! We'll beat Weapon ourselves!"

Cid crossed his arms. "Hey, Cloud...You think we can win against that monster? ...We got a chance o' winnin', right?"

Cloud shrugged. "How would I know? But that's no reason for us to just let him go! We're goin' to Midgar and fightin' Weapon! Come on, let's move!"

"Don't you mean, 'Let's mosey!'?" Harry quipped, earning a dirty look from Cloud and several snickers from everyone else.

Cid piloted the Highwind himself, bumping the pilot manning the helm off to the side. Within minutes, the grizzled old pilot set the Highwind down outside of Midgar, with Weapon still several minutes away. "Awright, you knuckleheads!" He called to the crew as he swung his spear around above his head. "Keep the ship safe up in the air until after the battle! No sense in risking the Highwind!" He was answered with a chorus of 'Yes'ir!'s.

Cloud, Cid, Nanaki, and Harry were in the front line, with Tifa, Barret, and Cait Sith in the back providing support (spells from Tifa and Cait, gunfire from Barret). The Highwind shuddered from the earth quaking with each step of the giant Weapon before the airship was able to take off, taking to a safe altitude high above them. It wasn't long before the Weapon's shadow swept over them, and all too soon, Weapon was before them, peering down at them almost curiously and - _was Harry imagining it?_ - amused that this ragtag group of warriors thought to challenge it.

Cloud stood resolute. "All right...Let's show 'em what we're capable of!" With that, he ran forward, hacking at the ankle joint of the Weapon, jumping back at the shower of sparks that, well, sparked off its armor. "Geez...it's harder than...anything I've ever seen!"

Harry looked up, pulling Cid to the side with him as the Weapon decided to it had enough of their antics and attempted to step on them. He noticed a pulsing red core in the creature's chest. "Hey, what's that red spot?"

Nanaki looked up at it. "It might be a weak point..."

Cloud nodded. "Okay, different tactics!" He had to pause in delivering battle orders to roll away from a blast of energy. "Barret! Focus your fire on that red core! Tifa, Cait, Harry, support him with magic. Everyone else, keep Weapon's attention off them!"

Cid groaned. "I just love bein' the damn bait..." He shouldered his spear, took a drag on his cigarette, then flicked it away and jumped forward, pole-vaulting off his spear to gain enough height to _just_ scratch the Weapon's waist-level armor with the tip of his spear. He hit the ground rolling, coming to a rest behind the creature.

Harry dashed forward, activating his Steal Materia, and pulled back with a red, circular serrated blade with an inscription which read, 'Rising Sun.' "Huh..." He shrugged, putting the odd item into his pack before focusing on his Earth Materia.

Barret's gunarm was firing nearly nonstop, the tip of the gatling-gun-like barrels starting to glow red with heat. The bullets didn't seem to be doing much more than scratching and denting the armor around the core, causing Barret to begin swearing as he kept up his steady stream of fire, regularly pausing to allow his gunarm to cool a bit before resuming his attack.

Cloud, Cid, and Nanaki were doing an adequate job of keeping Weapon's attention off the damage dealers. Nanaki would dart in, leaping up to a viable looking target, and attack before leaping back down. Cid and Cloud, more land-bound than their quadruped fellow, were forced to dance between the Weapon's feet and energy blasts to attack the aforementioned feet.

Tifa glowed with an electric green energy before a massive thunderbolt shot from the sky, connecting to Weapon's head and sending a massive electrical jolt through its systems. The massive creature turned its red eyes on her, only to catch Cait Sith's Flare spell directly on its core, knocking it slightly off balance.

Harry followed up with the most powerful Quake spell, Tremor, which caused the earth to rumble and vibrate before cracking underneath Weapon's feet (causing Cloud, Nanaki, and Cid to leap clear) before rising and falling sporadically, causing the already-teetering Weapon to stumble heavily before the ground settled again, once more looking pristine (or as pristine as it was with Weapon's weight sinking into the dirt).

Weapon stepped back, equilibrium regained, and ignored the melee combatants' attempts to regain its attention as it opened a hinge surrounding the core, which began to glow brightly. "It's doing something! Hit it hard! NOW!" Cloud bellowed as motes of red energy began to gather around the core.

Barret pulled out all the stops on his gunarm, pumping an endless stream of lead toward the core, while Tifa and Cait Sith cast their most powerful spells repeatedly, sipping an Ether between each cast in a semi-futile attempt to stay energized. Harry, on the other hand, was calling to his summon Materia.

_Shiva...please, lend us your aid..._ he thought. He felt a confirmation and shouted. "Alright, time to freeze you in your tracks! Let 'em have it, Shiva!"

A chill breeze billowed Harry's cloak as the sky darkened, and crystals of ice gathered behind him. A feminine form coallesced inside the ice, opened her eyes, and shattered the ice crystals with a flick of her hand, casting aside her shawl onto Harry's shoulders. Shiva graced him with a brief smile before turning a stony face toward Weapon, who seemed unimpressed. Shiva smirked and threw both hands forward, gathering enough ice around Weapon to bury it up to its neck. The Queen of the North paused for a moment, glowing a silvery blue, before launching forward with a reverse roundhouse kick, clocking Weapon about the face with her foot and shattering the ice, driving the razor-edged pieces into the creatures body. As Weapon reeled back, roaring in pain and anger, Shiva nodded to Harry, who gave her a short bow of thanks, upon which the entity faded from view.

Harry couldn't resist. "Shiva just gets _cooler_ each time I summon her."

Somewhere in the ensuing silence, a cricket chirped.

Weapon roared once more, heavily damaged, but began to backpedal toward the sea. "Hey, where ya goin', ya blockhead? We ain't finished wit' you yet!" Barret bellowed at the retreating beast.

"What's wrong? Is it still looking for something?" Tifa mused, her knees trembling with exhaustion.

Cloud shook his head, putting his Buster Sword on his back. "No, it's...feeling something. Yeah...it senses murder."

As Weapon's feet crashed through the surf, Cid cried, "To my ship!"

The Highwind's crew, it seemed, had read their Captain's mind, for before Cid's words faded from hearing, the airship was idling next to them. Once they were aboard, the Highwind pulled up off the ground just as Cait Sith shouted. "Oh no! Let's hurry out of here! Something big...I'm talkin' _really big_'s comin'!"

* * *

Remus and Ginny were staring at the screen as President Rufus' office faded in. Heidegger's voice came in over the intercom. "Gyah ha hah, Mr. President! Preparations for the Sister ray are now complete!"

Rufus turned to the speaker on his desk as Scarlet came on as well. "Hah hah hah! Anytime is fine."

Rufus nodded, then turned back to the window to watch the now-retreating figure of Weapon. "...Fire."

The camera panned along the length of the Sister Ray. It's ominous appearance made Ginny shudder as it shone metallically in the night. The camera swiveled around, landing on each of the Mako reactors as they activated, one by one. When all were burning, pure Mako energy began to pump from each through small, highly-transparent tubes and accumulating in the cannon's receptacles. The energy built as the cannon's barrel began to vibrate, a blue halo of light forming around the tip.

"Hm...seems the molecular energy of the very air is being drawn into the cannon as it prepares to fire," Remus mused.

"What does that mean, Moony?" Ginny asked.

"As that Highwind fellow so elegantly phrased it, Ginny," Remus smiled grimly. "'Whatever that thing hits...there ain't gunna be _shit_ left when it's done.'"

Then, as all the Mako energy and molecular energy was drawn into the barrel, the halo of light was consumed as well, and compressed into a single pinpoint of light. The countryside goes pitch-black as the Sister Ray fires.

"Oh, wow!" Ginny breathed as she watched a colossal helix of energy launches forward from the cannon, causing the supporting structures to collapse and every _single_ window in the Shinra building to shatter from the sheer force of its passing.

In his office, Rufus nonchalantly flips a lock of hair from his forehead.

* * *

Cloud, Harry, and their comrades and friends were on the Highwind's bridge, tailing Weapon from a safe altitude. The creature turned once it had finished crossing the ocean, pulling back the armor plates on its body, revealing countless orifices from which streamed bullets of energy that raced across the ocean in the general direction of..."Midgar!" Red XIII cried.

"Marlene!" Barret wailed, leading the way up to the deck where they watched from the railing.

They watched as Weapon's energy bullets flew in a cloud past the incoming blast from the relocated Midgar cannon. The white energy burst from Midgar lanced through Weapon, carrying the creature some distance before pushing through on towards to the North. Weapon seemed to blink comically, and as the Highwind circled overhead, Harry could see a massive hole where the red core used to be. Harry could even see the Northern continent through the hole in Weapon's chest before it began sparkling with violet energy. Weapon hit the ground, bouncing once before coming to a stop. The red faded from its eyes and...Weapon was defeated.

"Damn..." Barret whistled.

"It went right through Weapon..." Red XIII agreed.

"I see!" Cloud declared, causing everyone to look at him oddly. "They're after Sephiroth! The crater on the Northern Boundary!"

* * *

Rufus still stood, staring out the now window-less window, unmoving. "Sir! Weapon's been defeated!" a voice announced over the intercom. "The barrier has disappeared!"

Rufus moved after a moment, walking over to his desk. He stops, looking up as the operater spoke again. "Sir! A mass of high-density energy is heading towards Midgar!"

Remus and Ginny watched as the energy bullets Weapon fired flew over the heads of citizens on the Upper Plate of Midgar, though a few stray shots struck the surrounding area in several locations. Most, however, zeroed in on the Shinra building and, in particular, Rufus' office. The scene focused on the Shinra President as he watched calmly, unperturbed as the blasts blew past him and tore apart his office. He blinks once, before diving to the floor before his entire office in consumed in flames from a significantly larger energy blast. The scene fades to black.

"...No way he could've survived that," Ginny said softly.

"I agree it would be very improbable," Remus replied, just as softly.

Ron stumbled in, holding a butterbeer. "So, what did I miss?" Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother before refocusing on the screen.

* * *

"What happened to...Sephiroth?" Cloud wondered aloud on the Highwind bridge.

Cid nodded. "Northern Cave, eh? Let's go see what happened to it."

The pilot almost flew the airship right over it. "Wait up!" Harry cried. "Sephiroth's energy barrier is gone!"

Cloud turned to Cid. "Can the airship get inside?"

"Huh?" the pilot glanced at the blonde former mercenary. "He's my student, ain't he! Of course he can go anywhere!"

Cloud nodded sheepishly. "Right, sorry about that."

Barret jumped, turned to Cait Sith. "Yo, ya stuffed cat! Now what?"

But the animated cat didn't seem to hear him. "Hold it!" he shouted at an unseen person. "Scarlet! Heidegger! What's going on!?"

Heidegger's voice came in over Cait's earpiece. "Strange....I can't reach the President."

"Not the President!" Cait cried. "To Sister Ray!"

Scarlet's nasal voice cackled. "What is it, Reeve!? You're speaking strangely."

Cait shook his ehad. "None of that matters! The reactor's output is increasing all by itself!"

"W-w-wait a minute! That's not wise!" Scarlet protested. "It must cool for three hours or it won't work! Reeve, shut off the machine!"

Cait's hands fiddled with a seemingly-imaginary device and held it up to his ear, like a phone. "Someone has switched the machine over to mainframe operation! We can't operate it from here." He growled. "...What about the mainframe? Who!?" Cait turned to the side. "Call the mainframe!"

"Huh?" Heidegger responded. "Why are you giving orders?"

"I don't give a damn about the details!" Cait bellowed back.

All too soon, an all-too-familiar cackle came in over the radio. "Just you wait, Sephiroth," Hojo mused gleefully. "I'll give you all the Mako you want."

It seemed an intercom came on, because Reeve's voice sounded distorted. "Hojo, STOP! The cannon, no, Midgar itself is in danger!"

"Ha, ha, ha...One or two Midgars?" Hojo giggled insanely. "It's a small price to pay."

"Hojo! HOJO!!" Reeve growled, only to receive the distinctive _click_ of the intercom being turned off.

Barret got in Cait Sith's face. "YO! Do somethin'! Ya big cat!"

Cait slumped and timidly tiptoed away. "We're sunk...Hojo's doing this on his own...H-huh?" He turned and seemed to see them. "...I don't like this..."

Barret placed the still-hot barrels of his gunarm in Cait's face. "You're busted, Reeve!"

Cait Sith waved his arms madly. "Too late tryin' to hide it now..."

"Can't you stop the Mako reactor?" Cloud asked.

The stuffed cat was silent for a solid minute. "....We can't stop it."

"You're from Shinra, ain't ya!?" Barret growled. "So why's it impossible!?"

"We came a long way to get here," Cid agreed, fingering his spear. "You better not double-cross us now!"

"I can't make you trust me..." Cait whimpered.

"You damn fool! Don't you understand anything I'm saying?" Cid barked. "I don't give a damn about Shinra. If you're a man...no, if you're a human being, you'll save the planet! Don't you even care!?"

Cait shook his head. "No way! If we shut down the reactor, all hell will break loose!!"

Cid looked puzzled. "Why? Can't you just shut off the valve?"

Cait paused. "...Yeah, it's easy to shut off the reactor's pipe valve...But the reactor made a path for the energy to escape from below. Once you open that...it'll be impossible to close again until everything blasts out. And we can't try to stop the enegry from gushing out..."

"An explosion!" Harry concluded.

Cait Sith nodded. "This blast will be way stronger than when the No. 1 reactor blew up!"

Barret turned away. "Damn...!"

"Forget about that! The _cannon!_ We've got to get to Midgar! That's the first thing!" Cait argued.

Harry nodded. "First...we gotta stop Hojo."

* * *

Ron and Hermione, having relieved Ginny and Remus, watched as Reeve, Heidegger, and Scarlet stood around a long table. Reeve turned to Heidegger. "Looks like Cloud and the others are on their way. Stay out of the way!"

Heidegger laughed. "Ghaa haah hah hah! Don't be so ludicrous! I don't recall you giving me any orders! The Peace Preservation will give their best effort to make the enemy retreat!"

Scarlet added her nasal laugh as Heidegger finished with "Because of them, I...I!"

"That's a private matter," Reeve cut in.

"The President is dead!" Heidegger grunted. "Now, I'm doing things my way! Ghaa haa!"

"Heidegger! Now I'm going to use the new weapon!" Scarlet added as two guards came in and restrained Reeve. Heidegger and Scarlet cackled as they left.

Reeve bowed his head. "Cloud, everybody...! Sorry...But!"

The scene jumped back to the Highwind bridge; Ron and Hermione straightened when they saw Harry among those on the bridge of the airship. "But!" the cat-on-a-moogle hopped up. "But you'll come, won't you?"

The spikey-haired Cloud stepped forward. "I know."

"Know what?" Ron asked the screen, fully aware that they wouldn't hear him. "What do you know!?"

"Shush, Ron!" Hermione snapped, slapping her finger over Ron's lips.

"Hey!" Cid called to the pilot that was still in training. "I'm leaving the ship in your hands!" He nodded. I'm heading for Midgar!"

The pilot saluted sharply while keeping one hand on the wheel. "Sir!"

* * *

Harry: So, how was your flight, since you had to turn off your laptop shortly after take off because the battery died on you?

It wasn't bad at all. We got some great pictures of the snow-capped mountains in Montana...and I got to watch that new 'Mall Cop' movie I've been wanting to see.

Sirius: So it was all good?

Yup. And the pool at our hotel is heated!

Hermione: And the jacuzzi hot-tub next to it is very nice, indeed.

...I'm not even going to ask.

Ginny: You see, Hermione? They _can_ learn!

Cor, Harry, and Sirius: _Oi!_

Hermione: On a different note, you're going to post all the rest of the chapters you have finished, Cor?

Yeah. I won't have Internet access while on the ship, so I figure I could use the time between stops to type...among other things.


	63. To the Mako Cannon!

Whoo! Cruises rock! And snorkeling is fun!

Harry: Uh-huh...Cor doesn't own anything found here.

* * *

"Even if we get there, Midgar's under martial law!" Barret argued. "There'll be no way we could slip into the slums."

Tifa nodded agreeably. "Looks like all transportation from the slums is cut off..."

Harry glanced over at Cid and smirked, nodded. Cid stepped forward. "Hey, hey, whaddya think we have the Highwind for? Where are we now!?"

This gave Barret pause. "Huh? Where are we...?"

"If land's no go..." Harry reasoned, "then we'll go by air!"

"Okay then!" Cloud nodded. "We'll parachute into Midgar!"

Up on the deck, Harry grimaced and coughed in the thick air above Midgar. "Ugh...and I thought the air was bad...on the inside."

Red XIII reached up, standing on his hind legs, and cuffed Harry. "Enough of that."

"Here we go!" Cloud declared, leaping over the railing and deploying his parachute. He was soon followed by Cait, Cid, Tifa, and Barret.

Harry made sure Nanaki was secure in their joint-parachute. "Ready, Red?"

"Of course, Harry."

Harry and Red XIII leapt over the railing, free falling a few wild seconds before the wizard pulled the ripcord, deploying their chute for a minute's slow fall onto the streets. As Cait Sith bounded past, he shot back a warning as Harry and Nanaki extricated themselves from the parachute. "Heidegger is going after you all. That's why it's dangerous out here. Let's get underground!"

Harry and Red XIII darted into an alley where they found the rest of their party around a manhole. "Sounds strange comin' from me," Barret mused, "but it feels like home, bein' back in Midgar. Kinda makes me sick..."

Nanaki snorted. "I have an old score to settle with Hojo. So, let's hurry and go!"

Cait danced with excitement. "This is where we go in." He threw the cover to the side. "Please! Hurry and come to the Mako Cannon!"

Inside, they found a deplorable maze of pipes, walkways, and ladders. "Reminds me of the tournament in my fourth year," Harry breathed softly to himself. "But at least there won't be any oversized acromantulas to bite my leg..."

A soft skittering sound started up behind him. Harry spun, hand on his sword, to see a mechanical spider attempting to creep up behind him. "Spoke too soon, Harry?" Nanaki chuckled.

"I guess so," Harry remarked. He leapt forward, swung Gryffindor's Sword vertically, and disabled the spider bot by removing all but one leg on its right side. Harry pivoted on a foot, spinning around and slamming the edge of the blade straight into the robot's optical sensors. The spider bot fell back, sparked, and fell silent and began to emit smoke. "...That was _so_ much easier than beating that giant spider back in fourth year."

"I'm sure it helped that this bot wasn't even half your size, kid," Cloud smirked. "If you're done playing around, let's get going."

Despite the mess of paths the various pipes and walkways made, the group made pretty good time navigating through the mechanical rooms and arriving in a subway beneath Midgar. They were ambushed here, however, by some old..._friends_...of theirs. "Oh no! They're here!"

Elena came up, walking out of the shadows, still clad in her sharp-looking suit. "What are we going to do!? I think it's okay for you to ignore your orders now..." She seemed to be talking to herself again.

Reno and Rude walked up behind her. "Elena, don't act so weak," Reno chided gently.

Rude nodded, adjusted his glasses. "We're Turks, Elena."

The blonde nodded. "Yes, sir. You're right."

"Come on, we've got work to do," Rude added.

"I'm not really up for it, but..." Reno mused.

"Our orders were to seek you out and...Kill," Elena told Cloud. "Our company may be in turmoil, but, an order's an order...That's the will and spirit of the Turks! Believe it!"

Somewhere in the distance, a cricket chirped. Twice.

"What are you doing!? Let's go!" Elena growled.

"We really don't have time for this," Harry said softly. Cloud nodded.

"You're right, kid." Cloud looked thoughtful. "Tifa, Barret, Cait Sith...take care of things down here, okay?"

"But!" Cait began to protest. "What about the Mako Cannon?"

"We'll take care of that," Harry shot back. "We don't have time to deal with the Three Stooges here." Harry was given a chorus of 'Hey!' from the Stooges...er, the Turks in question.

"Leave 'em to me!" Barret chuckled, stepping forward to stand between the Turks and the rest of the group. "Tifa, you coming? How 'bout you, ya stuffed cat?"

"Right behind ya, Barret!" Tifa grinned, cracking her knuckles through her combat gloves.

"Leave Hojo to us, Cait," Red XIII added.

Harry turned to the two groups about to battle. "You kiddies play nice, now!" He turned and sprinted down the subway, followed by Cid, Cloud, and Nanaki, all intent on cuffing his head.

* * *

Reno turned to Barret. "I know we've got a weird relationship, but...We have to end this...like Turks!"

Barret nodded. "Iffen that's how ya feel...We won't lose easily!"

Rude assumed a fighting stance. "The Turks...don't lose."

Tifa smirked. "You're going to be eating those words in a minute or two." Rude and Tifa, the hand-to-hand specialists of their respective sides, leapt toward each other, fists and feet meeting, blocking, and striking in a flurry of blows almost too fast for the others to see clearly.

"C'mon!" Elena growled at Cait, tossing a grenade toward the stuffed cat. Cait Sith retaliated by diving to the side, flinging forward three large dice, which landed with a combined total of fourteen, before blowing up around the female Turk.

As Elena fell back, Cait chuckled. "Ya shouldn't have played the bombs game with me, lassie."

Reno charged toward Barret, swinging his electro-rod. Barret grunted as he parried the blow with his gunarm before throwing a gutpunch into Reno's stomach. The red-haired Turk stumbled back, letting himself hit the deck to both recover and dodge Barret's follow-up burst of gunfire. Reno swung his body around, hooking his leg behind the larger man's knee and pulling Barret from his feet. As Barret hit the ground, cursing, Reno pushed off with his hand and made to slam his rod down on Barret's prone form.

Barret evaded the strike by rolling over, bringing his gunarm to bear. His retaliatory burst caught Reno in the chest and shoulders, as he was surprised by Barret's quick movement despite his size. Reno fell back, defeated. "Huff...I concede..."

Rude and Tifa were both looking fairly battered, but neither were willing to admit defeat as they grappled once more. Rude surprised Tifa by feinting into a hip throw, tossing the former bartender on the floor. Tifa sprung to her feet, flashing orange, and rushed in too quickly for Rude to step aside. Tifa's salvo began with two lightning-fast body blows followed by an uppercut to Rude's chin, sending him up a few feet in the air. Tifa leapt up after him, somersaulting forward and driving Rude back into the floor with her feet. The martial artist followed up with a massive uppercut as Rude climbed groggily back onto his feet, accompanied by the echo of a laughing dolphin. Tifa jumped after the airborne Rude once more, grabbed the Turk into a headlock, and slammed him back into the floor. Tifa bounced back up into the air, spun, and dove fist-first into Rude's stomach, causing the Turk to nearly fold in half from the floor. Tifa used his reactive movement to grab him and toss him up into the air, where she finished him off with a haymaker punch as he came back down. sending Rude on a one-way trip into the wall, where he didn't get up again.

Barret looked at Cait Sith. "Remind me not to piss Tifa off."

"With pleasure, laddie."

* * *

Harry and Cloud helped Nanaki climb a tower marked 'fifty-nine', followed closely by Cid. They soon reached an extrerior street of Upper-City Midgar, where huge robotic footsteps approached them. "It can't be..." Red breathed.

A huge mech, easily two stories tall and red in color, stepped in front of them. It rested for a moment. "Hey-hey!" Cid protested. "You serious...!?"

The chest armor swung open, exposing Scarlet and Heidegger. "Kyaaa! Here they come!" the blonde cackled.

"G'yaa haa ha! So, they really _did_ show up!" Heidegger agreed. He glared down at them. "You sure did treat us like dogs up to now!"

"You killed off a lot of my precious soldiers!" Scarlet added.

Heidegger's cackle joined Scarlet's. "G'yaa haa ha! Let's see how you do against anti-Weapon artillery!"

"You guys are worthless, but my proud creation is a sure thing!" Scarlet remarked.

Harry turned to Cloud and Red. "You know...I'm almost flattered. They needed to bring out their anti-Weapon toys just to deal with little ole us."

Cloud, smirking, nodded. "I know. Makes you feel important, doesn't it?"

Cid puffed his ever-present cigarette. "I mean, come on! How much can three guys and a leonine _do_?"

Even Nanaki had a comment to add. "If this is what they call 'anti-Weapon,' I'd hate to see what they'd use against Sephiroth."

"They'd probably use a remote-controlled stuffed cat!" Harry joked, causing the others to laugh while Scarlet and Heidegger fumed.

"I'll show you the desctructive power of the Proud Clod!" the blonde in the mech screamed as the chest armor closed up again.

"_Some_one's having her time of month," Cid cracked, lazily jumping back to avoid being smashed by the fist of the mech.

Harry shot a look at Cloud. "Cloud, take Cid and go stop Hojo. Nanaki and I will handle this."

"You sure, kid?"

"Cloud, you're the leader of this ragtag group. You go on and face Hojo. And you'll need to take Cid, as he's the mechanic here, so he's the one most likely to stop the Mako Cannon before it does any permanent damage," Harry argued, ignoring the muffled scream from the Proud Clod that its name was the 'Sister Ray.' "Just go already!"

Cloud nodded reluctantly. "Alright. Don't kill yourself, kid. C'mon, Cid, let's mosey."

Cid groaned. "Not again, goddammit..."

As Cid and Cloud rushed off toward the cannon, Harry turned to Nanaki, smirking. "Let's do this, Red."

"After you, Harry."

"Such a gentleman!" Harry quipped, rolling forward under a laser blast from the Proud Clod. He cast Tremor, rocking the ground beneath the mech's feet. As Scarlet attempted to rebalance the mech, Nanaki leapt up, pushing off the wall of a nearby building for extra height, and landed on the mech's shoulder, where he used his claws to dig through the lighter armor to expose wiring and circuit boards. He jumped away to avoid a burst of gunfire from a small gatling gun located on the side of the mech's head.

Harry kept playing 'tag' with the Proud Clod's laser blasts and massive fist. He wove in and out, striking quickly and withdrawing just as fast, like a cobra, using the mech's much more massive size against it to keep safe from harm. He rolled forward, going under a blade that swung out from the mech's ankle, and slashed off a piece of armor. Harry reached in quickly and yanked on the wiring, and was rewarded with a shower of sparks in his face.

Nanaki aimed a Trine E-Spell from the rooftop of the building. The electrical storm that brewed around the Proud Clod was all the warning that was given before several high-power jolts of electricity was forcibly channeled through the mech's systems, frying countless circuit boards and shorting miles of wiring.

The Proud Clod jerked back, striking Harry in the chest with its foot as he recovered from the face of sparks and sending him flying into a pile of refuse. The mech followed up by swinging its massive fist and catching Nanaki as the leonine moved to help Harry. Red XIII yelped in pained surprise before flying through a window.

_Alright...no more Mister Nice Wizard...Playtime's over,_ Harry thought as he shoved a smelly bag of garbage away, glowing orange. He whipped Gryffindor's Sword forward from the pile of trash and took aim at the Proud Clod's chest armor. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!_"

Instantly, the area was blanketed in a white fog, and a glowing silver stag stepped forward. Prongs stood beside Harry for a moment, before rearing and charging forward, his hooves clopping even as the Patronus flew up and into the Proud Clod's cockpit.

Harry heard a number of shrieks and cries of pained surprise before the Clod's armor opened once more, where a very bloodied version of Scarlet and Heidegger jumped from the now-slumping mech and ran for it, still screaming.

Red XIII limped out in time to see Prongs bow his antlered head and fade away, taking the mist with him. "Harry...?"

Harry looked thoughtful as he handed the leonine an Elixir. "I think that...was my fourth tier Limit Break...but I never would have expected that spell."

Nanaki looked much better once the Elixir took effect. "Come on, let's go catch up with Cloud and Cid."

"Yeah, where did ole Spikey go, anyway?" Harry and Red looked up to see Tifa, Cait Sith, and Barret walking up to him.

"Heidegger and Scarlet cut us off in that mech," Harry summarized. "So, I told Cloud to take Cid and press on while we dismantled it."

"Oh, so we missed this party, lads?" Cait Sith asked.

"Then, let's go and make sure we don't miss the biggest party of all," Tifa agreed.

Harry nodded. "This way! Come on!" He lead the other towards the stairway in the back, where Cloud and Cid had ascended to the control panel of the Sister Ray and were, even now, fighting Hojo.

* * *

Sirius: That's it?

That's it. For now.

Harry: So, the next chapter will be the fight against Hojo?

No, it'll be a tea party, Harry.

Sirius: Heeeere's your sign!

Harry:...That was bad..._Sirius_ly...


	64. The Fall of Hojo

I don't own FF or HP. Get used to it; it's a fact of life.

Harry: Been a while, hasn't it?

A fair bit. But I was asked (repeatedly) to hurry up with the next chapter, so, here it is. The battle with Hojo!

* * *

Cloud and Cid raced up the flight of stairs next to the Mako Cannon. At the top they found a large instrument panel, with Hojo feverishly pressing buttons and flipping switches.

"Hojo!" Cloud roared, brandishing his Buster Sword. "Stop right there!!"

Hojo didn't bother to grace him with a look. "Oh...the failure," he muttered, not pausing his work in the slightest.

"At least remember my name," Cloud growled. "It's Cloud!"

Hojo paused. "Every time I see you...It pains me that I had so little scientific sense..." The scientist adjusted his eyeglasses and resumed flipping switches. "I had evaluated you as a failed project. But, you are the only one that succeeded as a Sephiroth-clone." He chuckled darkly. "I'm even beginning to hate myself."

"None of that matters, dammit!" Cid bellowed, swinging his spear around. "Stop this nonsensical bullshit!"

"...Nonsense? Oh, this?" Hojo paused and finally turned to look at Cloud, laughing. "Sephiroth seems to be counting on the energy. So, I'm going to lend him a hand."

"Why!? Why would you do that!?" Cloud asked.

"Quit asking me 'why,' you moron!" Hojo barked, walking up to Cloud and peering at him in the eyes. "Hm...actually, you might be cut out to be a scientist." He turned back to the instrument panel. "Energy level is at...eighty-three percent. It's taking too long." Hojo resumed pressing buttons. "My son is in need of power and help...That is the only reason."

Cloud blinked, taking a step back in shock. "...Your son?"

Hojo laughed. "Although he doesn't know." He had to pause his work as his diabolical laughter ocerwhelmed him. "What will Sephiroth think when he finds out that I'm his father? Always looking down on me like that."

"Sephiroth is your son!?" Cid repeated.

Hojo resumed his work once more. "Ha, ha, ha...I offered the woman with my child to Professor Gast's Jenova Project. When Sephiroth was still in the womb, we took the cells of Jenova....HA HA HA!!"

Cloud stepped forward again. "I can't believe you're the one who did this...The illusionary crime against Sephiroth..."

Hojo stopped and calmly faced Cloud, staring at him for a long moment before laughing again. "Heee! No, you're wrong! It's my desire as a scientist! Heee hee hee!" He stopped abruptly. "...I was defeated by my desire to become a scientist. I...lost the last time as well." He cackled. "I've injected Jenova's cells into my own body! Hee hee hee! Here are...hee hee...my results!"

"I don't think so!" Cid grunted, rushing forward and impaling the mad scientist on his spear. Cid pushed the spear clear through him, then reeled him in and shoved him off with his boot. As Cid stepped back, flicking a celebatory cigarette, Hojo stood up once more, now a deformed, mishapened creature that only vaguely resembled the human it once was. Rather, it more resembled a tree whose bark was purple and contained an exposed red core. One limb stretched down to keep the creature upright, while the other was raised up, ready to strike.

"Cid! Move!" Cloud barked, dashing forward and deflecting the upraised limb as it swung down to smash Cid into the grating. Cid rolled away, more surprised than anything else, before his face set into a determined expression.

"Let's go, Cloud!" Cid agreed, backing up the former SOLDIER."

Cloud shook his head. "Cid, go work the instrument panel. I'll hold him off." He grunted, fighting defensively as he deflected another strike. "If that cannon fires again..."

Cid growled. "Fine. I don't like it one effin' bit, though." Cid skirted the battle and, taking a long pull on his cigarette, began reversing Hojo's progress. "Don't get your spikey-headed ass hurt, Cloud."

"He'll be fine," Harry cut in, severing the lower arm with a heavy-handed slash.

"Harry!" Cloud blinked. "Everyone!"

"Save some fun for us, Cloud!" Barret called from a nearby platform, raining precise bursts of gunfire at Hojo.

Tifa came up suddenly, pummeling the former scientist with a punishing combination of quick strikes before she danced back from a counter-attack. "You're not the only one whose life has been affected by this man, Cloud."

"I know, but..." Cloud began, but was cut off by Nanaki's appearance.

The leonine pounced Hojo from behind, tearing into his back with his claws before leaping clear. "Really, Cloud. You've gotten as bad as Harry."

"Oi!" Harry protested, dodging aside to evade an ugly-looking spell.

"Less talk, more fight, laddie," Cait Sith quipped, directing his moogle in close with a haymaker punch, laying Hojo out flat.

"Glad you knuckleheads could make it to the party," Cid quipped, flipping a series of levers and causing the cannon to begin the long process of powering down.

There was a sudden cackling from Hojo's down formed. It shrank, becoming a more-humanoid lifeform that was inexplicably missing legs - it, instead, levitated through the air. Its arms contained no hands, but instead, sharp and deadly-looking blades. "Bloody hell," Harry breathed. "What's it take to kill him?"

"It's the Jenova cells in him," Cloud murmured. "Not only does Jenova increases his strength...and it makes him incredibly difficult to kill permanently."

"What're you dolts standin' 'round and yappin' for?" Barret yelled, pushing the new Hojo back with gunfire. "Hop to it, already!"

"You heard the man," Red grinned, leaping back from a swipe of Hojo's blade arms.

Cloud smirked, nodding. "Let's do it." He dashed in, knocking aside a defensive swipe with his sword and mounting an attack of his own, jumping back to reveal a deep gash in the torso. Tifa clapped her arms, catching a blade, and turned it down and shoved it through the grating, where Hojo was unable to pull it free.

"Nice one, Tifa," Harry grinned, leaping forward with an overhead slash, Gryffindor's Sword gleaming as it ripped through Hojo's unnatural flesh. The wizard rolled forward and behind Hojo, flashing a thumb's up.

"_This_ is how it's done, kids!" Cid roared, vaulting off his spear up into the air, where he pointed the tip down and slammed it through what remained of Hojo's torso, pinning the abomination completely.

"Now, Cloud!" Nanaki called out. "Finish him!"

Cloud stepped forward and raised his Buster Sword. "With pleasure." He slammed the edge down, the weight of the blade easily cleaving through the helpless Hojo's neck.

"...Anyone feel like that was too easy?" Cait Sith asked.

Everyone looked at each other. Harry idly booted Hojo's decapitated head off the platform, where it dissolved into nothingness before hitting the ground. "...Nah."

Tifa recovered her breath. "So..."

"...Buggar," Cid puffed on his cigarette. "...Hard to believe that Sephiroth is Hojo's son..."

* * *

"Whoa!" Ron jerked, surprised - he had been in the kitchen, grabbing butterbeers, and thus missed Hojo's confession of his relation to Sephiroth. "Sephiroth is Hojo's kid!?"

Remus nodded gravely, summarizing Hojo's experiments with Jenova for the red-head. "It makes a certain kind of morbid sense."

Hermione looked over at them. "Well...all's that left for them to do is find Sephiroth and...defeat him."

Ron nodded. "They'll do it. They have Harry with 'em, you know."

* * *

Harry: I doubt I'm as important in the game as Ron's making me out to be.

Sirius: Perhaps you aren't. Can't deny you're having fun, though.

Harry: No, I suppose not.

Sirius: Hey, where did Cor run off to, anyway?

_Elsewhere..._

Ha! *places first in the Chocobo Races.* Just two more races to go, and then I can attempt to breed the Gold Chocobo!


	65. Reasons to Fight

*yawn* Too much coke at work...

Harry: So you're blaming insomnia for making you write the next chapter?

No...I'm blaming insomnia for not letting me sleep.

Sirius: Is there a difference?

Always. Anyway, I'm going to use a different style to help differiate between Harry's viewpoint and his friends watching on the television. *rubs neck bashfully* Guess I should've used it from the beginning, but, eh, whatevvo...

Hermione: Whatev...*a hand muffles her* Mmmph!

Good timing, Ron.

* * *

Everyone gathered on the Highwind's bridge. It was silent, save for the hum of the engines...until...

"Shinra's...finished," Cait Sith whispered.

Cloud gazed at the huge, fiery orb in the sky through the bay window. "Meteor'll fall in about..."

"Seven more days," Nanaki finished. "That's...what Grandfather said."

"Red XIII..." Cloud mused. "You want to see everyone in Cosmo Canyon again?"

The leonine turned away. "....Yes."

Cloud looked at Barret. "You want to see Marlene, right?"

Barret shot him a look. "Do ya gotta ask?"

Cloud shook his head. "We'll beat Sephiroth...Then, if we don't release the power of Holy in seven days...There won't be a planet left to protect." He shrugged. "If we can't beat Sephiroth....It's as good as death for us. We'll just go a few days sooner than the rest who'll die from Meteor."

Harry huffed. "Don't be thinking we'll lose before we even fight."

"No!" Cloud shook his head vigorously, walking up to the bay window. "What I meant, was...What are we all fighting for? I want us all to understand that." He looked at the party. "Save the planet...for the future of the planet...Sure, that's all fine. But really, is that really how it is?" He shook his head slowly, taking a step forward. "For me, this is a personal feud. I want to beat Sephiroth. And settle my past. Saving the planet...just happens to be a part of that. I've been thinking..."

Cloud nodded. "I think we all are fighting for ourselves. For ourselves...and that someone...something...what it is, that's important to us. That's what we're fighting for. That's why we keep up this battle for the planet."

Barret scratched his head. "You're right...It sounds cool, sayin' it's to save the planet. But...I was the one who blew up that Mako reactor..." Cait Sith perked up, listening. "Lookin' back on it now, I can see that wasn't the right way to do things. I made a lot of friends and innocent bystanders suffer..." He clenched his fist, before relaxing it. "At first...it was revenge against Shinra. For attackin' my town. But now...Yeah, I'm fightin' for Marlene. For Marlene...for her future...Yeah, I guess I want to save the planet for Marlene's sake."

Cloud nodded. "Go, see her. Make sure you're right, and come back." He looked at everyone. "All of you. Get off the ship and find out your reasons for yourselves. I want you to make sure. Then I want you to come back."

"Maybe ain't none of us'll come back," Cid puffed his cigarette. "Meteor's just gonna kill us all anyway. Let's just forget any useless struggling!"

Cloud shrugged. "I know why I'm fighting. I'm fighting to save the planet, and that's that. But besides that, there's something personal, too. A very personal memory that I have. What about you all? I want all of you to find that something within yourselves." Cloud repeated his shrug. "If you don't find it, then that's okay, too. You can't fight without a reason, right? So, I won't hold it against you if don't come back."

* * *

_"What are you going to do, Tifa?" Cloud asked. They were sitting outside on a fallen tree. The Highwind hovered, boarding ladder extended, behind them. The wind was the only sound in their ears._

_Tifa looked at him. "Did you forget? I'm...all alone. I don't...have anywhere to go. And everyone...everyone's gone..."_

_"Yeah...we don't have anywhere...or anyone to go home to," Cloud agreed softly._

_Tifa looked down. "You're right." She paused, straightening her hair with one hand. "But...I'm sure someday...they'll come back, don't you think?"_

_Cloud crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. "Hmm...I wonder...? Everyone has an irreplaceable something they're holding on to...But this time, our opponent..."_

_The wind softened to a light breeze before Tifa nodded. "But...that's all right, even if no one comes back. As long as I'm with you...As long as you're by my side...I won't give up, even if I'm scared."_

Ron made a face. "Ugh...All this sweetness is giving me a toothache." He was immediately swatted by Hermione.

_"...Tifa..."_

_"No matter close we are...We were far apart...before this," Tifa went on. "But...when we were in the Lifestream, surrounded by all those screams of anguish, I thought I heard your voice." She closed her eyes, crying softly as she bowed her head. "You...probably don't remember this, but...deep in my heart, I heard you calling my name...Or at least...I though I did."_

_Cloud put a hand to his face, looking away. "Yeah...At that time...I heard you calling me. You were calling me back in from the stream of consciousness in the Lifestream." He nodded, dropping his hand. "After all, I promised. That if anything were to ever happen to you, I would come to help."_

Ginny blinked. "Sorry Hermione. I like sweet love scenes like this as much as the next girl, but enough is enough. I've hit my limit."

Hermione swallowed. "Well, I suppose, but...maybe something else happens in this scene that the player is supposed to see?"

_Tifa looked up, cinnamon eyes open. "Cloud? Do you think the stars can hear us? Do you...think they see how hard we're fighting for them?"_

_Cloud thought about it. "I dunno...but...Whether they are or not, we still have to do what we can. And believe in ourselves...Someday, we'll find the answer. Right, Tifa? That's what I learned from you when I was in the Lifestream."_

_Tifa nodded. "Yeah, that's right."_

_Cloud was silent for a moment, before shaking his head slowly. "Hey...Tifa...I...There are...a lot of things I wanted to talk to you about. But...now that we're together like this, I don't know what I really wanted to say..." He chuckled softly. "I guess nothing's changed at all...Kind of makes you want to laugh."_

_"Cloud...Words are the only thing that tell people what you're thinking..."_

The screen faded to black as the camera panned up to the sky. Even Hermione had a slight look of distaste by now.

Ron grinned. "See what we mean, 'Mione?"

Hermione didn't nod. "...I want to brush my teeth..." Ginny and Ron laughed.

* * *

Harry strolled casually on the grassy plain. "...What am I fighting for? It used to be...for all my friends, back when Voldemort was still around. But now? Now, they're safe. I got sucked into this video game and got wrapped up in saving a virtual world." He shook his head, laughing. "I guess...I could say that I'm fighting for a way home again."

A Mu popped up out the ground, took a curious look at Harry, and went back down again, causing the misplaced wizard to snigger. "At least I won't be pelted with rocks, anymore."

"Harry..."

Harry whipped around, hand on his sword. "Who...?"

There was small cloud of...fog?...rolling towards him. From it, a pair of brown travelling boots walked, followed by a pink, ankle-length dress and an apple-red blouse. Bright blue eyes danced in the light of the early-morning sun as Aeris smiled. "It's been a while, huh?"

Harry blinked. "But...you're dead...We watched you die. Sephiroth...he killed you."

"Hmm...." Aeris mused, looking Harry over. "So he did."

"What's...going on?" Harry asked.

Aeris smiled gently. "Relax, Harry. I am going to help you when you all fight Sephiroth." She tilted her head at his Materia wrist. "You did grab my Materia, didn't you? You kept Holy from falling into the water in the Forgotten City?"

Harry looked down at his wrist to see the Materia in question glowing a pale blue-green. "Yeah. I..somehow knew it was important, so I caught it when you...er.."

"When I died. It's alright, Harry," Aeris laughed. "Weren't you listening to Grandfather Bugenhagen? Death is a natural part of the cycle of life."

Harry shook his head. "Yeah, but...This is different..."

"How so?"

Harry fumbled for words. "Well...er...Sephiroth _did_ stab you. Death may be natural, but the cause doesn't have to be."

"Hmm...you're so old, Harry!" Aeris laughed again, chiding him.

Harry huffed. "And what's that's supposed to mean!?"

Aeris was giggling. "Nothing!"

"Nothing?" Harry repeated, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

"Right! Nothing!" Aeris nodded, instilling Harry with a sense of deja vu. "Anyway! When you beat Sephiroth...You'll need to throw Holy into the Lifestream."

"What?" Harry gasped. "But..."

Aeris placed a single, slender finger over his mouth, silencing him. She smiled gently. "I'll take care of it. Okay? You don't have to worry about it. Worry about yourself, okay? You still have a whole life yet to live."

Harry blinked, and Aeris was gone. Gone, too, was the fog she had appeared from. "Aeris...?"

A soft giggling danced on the wind. "Take care of yourself, Harry. Oh...and I had a good time on our 'date' in the Gold Saucer...stuffed cats aside."

Harry felt distinctly nonplussed. "...Thanks...I think...?" When he didn't hear anything but the breeze, he called "Aeris?" a few times, only to see the Mu pop back up and throw a rock at him, as if to say, 'Quit talking to yourself, idiot!'

Harry grumbled as he rubbed the spot on his arm where the rock had struck. "Bugger..."

* * *

The airship is too big for just the two of us," Tifa remarked as she and Cloud walked toward the bridge at a slow, liesurely pace. "Yeah...it's a little lonely without everyone."

Cloud looked back at her. "Don't worry. It'll be okay." He did a few squat-thrusts. "I'll make a big enough ruckus for everyone!" Tifa laughed at him. Cloud stood and straightened his hair. "Besides, I'm the pilot. No more flying around casually like before. We won't have time to feel lonely."

Tifa nodded, before the Highwind began to shake as the engines fired up. "Huh!?"

Cloud glanced around. "It's moving..." They dashed to the bridge...and past Cait Sith, who was dozing in one corner. Barret and Red XIII was watching out the window, while Cid operated the controls. Harry was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and smirking.

"Barret! Cid!" Cloud gasped.

Barret looked at them. "O, oh...is that okay with you?"

Nanaki padded up. "Red XIII! Harry!" Tifa blinked in surprise as recognition finally won over shock. "Why didn't you tell me!?"

Red glanced at Cid. "But, you know, Cid..."

Cid shook his head, cutting the leonine off. "Hey, Red...If you butt in now, you never know what they'll say later..."

Tifa turned a bright, beet red. "....Were you watching!?!?"

Harry chuckled. _Revenge is sweet.._ He held up a small CD. "Even caught it on the Highwind's starboard camera. Gotta say...you two make a cute couple."

Tifa growled. "Give me that!" She leapt at him. Harry danced away, laughing. A merry chase ensued around the bridge, with many outraged shrieks from Tifa, and many more guffaws from everyone else.

Once the laughter died down...and Harry received a thorough beating from Tifa, who promptly destroyed the (unknown to her) blank disc...Cloud looked around. "...Thanks, everyone."

Barret huffed. "We didn't come back for your spikey headed ass! We came back for Marlene. Guess it's jes' me...whatcha call, feelings or somethin'..." He paused. "I...uh...I ain't got no words now."

There was a brief pause. "Although she's not here, she left us a window of opportunity..." Nanaki said softly.

Cid nodded. "We can't let it go like this."

Cloud looked out the window. "Aeris...She was smiling to the end. We have to do something, or that smile will just freeze like that." He turned to the group, nodding. "Let's all go together. Memories of Aeris...Athough she should've returned to the planet by now, something stopped her, and now she's stuck. We've got to let go of Aeris' memory."

Harry looked down at the pale-green Materia in his bracelet. _I don't think that's it at all...but I think I'm just going to keep quiet on this one._

Cloud looked around. "This...will be our last battle. Our target is the North Cave. Our enemy is...Sephiroth!" He stepped forward. "So...let's move out!"

Harry rolled his eyes, snickering. "_Finally!_ He gets it right!"

* * *

Hermione: That scene with Harry and Aeris isn't part of the game!

Soooo....I exercised a little creative license. Was that wrong?

Hermione: More than a little!

Aeris: I think it was nice. I got more than just extending my hand in the ending this way.

See? Aeris likes it.

Hermione: *sigh*


	66. Breaching the Gates

I don't own HP or FF. If I did, FFX-2 would be longer, contain less cutscenes, and more plot...and more actual 'searching' instead of just missions unrelated to looking for a missing person. Boring!

Harry: So, where have you been?

Busy. Work. School. WoW. Borderlands...

Sirius: Borderlands?

A really fun XBox 360 game.

Sirius: ...?

Harry: Don't worry about it, Sirius.

* * *

Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Red XIII, Cid, Cait Sith, and Harry stood on the deck as a crew member threw a rope ladder over the railing. The ladder unrolled itself and came to a stop about a half foot off the ground.

"Well, this is it," Cloud said. "Let's go...and stop Sephiroth once and for all."

"Hear, hear!" Harry agreed, walking over and climbing down the ladder first. He was soon followed by Barret (once again carrying Red XIII), Tifa, Cloud, Cid, and Cait Sith.

The crewman called down once they had descended. "We'll wait here in case you need to come back." Cloud waved back in acknowledgement before nodding to the group and leading the way. He picked his steps carefully, and as they descended into the Northern Crater, bits of dirt and pebbles slid away from beneath their feet.

"It's too quiet..." Harry mused as they finally reached more stable sections of ground that lead into what looked like a series of tunnels. "Being the Northern Crater, hideout of Sephiroth...I'd have expected there to be more monsters, you know?"

"Careful what you wish for, kid," Cloud warned, pointing to the level below. "You just might get it." Harry looked and found the pack of Gargoyles Cloud was pointing at.

The group proceeded carefully, Barret, Cloud, and Cid taking point and quickly dispatching monsters as the party stumbled upon them. Harry, Tifa, Cait, and Nanaki stayed back, casting supportive spells (Tifa and Red XIII) or attack magic (Harry and Cait Sith). It wasn't long before they reached a fork in the path that was fortunately clear of monsters. They rested as they debated which path to take.

Cloud glanced around at everyone before nodding. "The road splits in two. We'll split into two groups."

"The PHS won't work down here," Cid mentioned. "So if you get in trouble, you're on your own."

"Which way are you going to go, Cloud?" Harry asked.

Cloud thought it over, glanced between the paths. "I'll take the left path." He paused. "I won't tell anyone which way they should go, but...I want both groups to be roughly even in size."

Harry nodded. "In that case, I'll handle the right path."

Barret grunted. "All right, then I'll go wit'cha."

"As will I," Red XIII agreed.

"Then I'm going with Cloud," Tifa piped up.

"Cloud will probably encounter the bigger party," Cid puffed on his cigarette. "I'm going that way as well."

Cait Sith glanced around the party. "I should probably go with Harry's group, then - That way, both teams will have a strong magic user with them in case things get rough."

Harry nodded and stood up, along with his team consisting of Barret, Nanaki, and Cait Sith. "We'll meet up at the bottom of the cave." Harry pointed at the source of glowing green light that had been steadilty growing brighter the deeper they progressed.

Cloud nodded. "Now...don't any of you die on me...Gotta get through to Sephiroth!"

Red XIII chuckled. "Indeed. All life on this planet...the very life of this planet, is in our hands..."

"So, no pressure!" Harry quipped, causing everyone to crack a grin.

"I'm so happy to have met you all, really!" Cait Sith sniffed, shoving off Barret's playful jab.

"Don't be getting mushy on us, Cat!" He looked at Cloud and Tifa. "Well...Looks like this is our last big job!"

"This will be the end of it!" Cloud agreed. He, Tifa, and Cid waved and travelled down their selected path.

"Well, no sense waiting around. Let's get moving," Harry commented. He and Nanaki took point, leading Barret and Cait Sith down their route as it spiralled down a stalactite. When the path ended at a gap, Red XIII leapt first, clearing the gap and landing on what looked like a fresh pathway below. Harry took a few steps running before jumping after him, followed by Cait Sith and finally Barret.

"Geronimoooo!" the large bear-like man declared. Harry, Cait, and Nanaki leapt aside, allowing Barret plenty of room to tumble as he hit the dirt. They then had to chase after him as his rolling became a wild tumble, Barret cursing all the way down until he finally smashed into a stalagmite on the floor below.

"Wow, Barret, you were really on a roll, too," Harry joked when they caught up to him. "And look, you didn't gather any moss, either!"

"Shut it, kid," Barret groused while Cait Sith cast Curaga to soothe the bruises and scrapes he collected in his wild tumble.

A sudden roar made them look up into the yellow eyes of a giant purple horned beast...a Behemoth. "Move!" Harry barked, rolling aside the incoming claw and drawing his sword. He then leapt forward and struck, leaving a gash in the monster's fore leg and was thrown back with a flick of its horned head for his trouble.

Cait Sith launched a salvo of miniature comets, each one striking the Behemoth in the face, but did little more than enrage it. Nanaki snuck around, then leapt at it from the side. He tore into the Behemoth's flanks with his claws and teeth before jumping away as it turned to face him. Barret took that moment to unleash a barrage of gunfire, peppering its more sensitive sides with bullets.

Harry lashed out with Tremor, making a piece of ground beneath the Behemoth rise up and slam into the beast's stomach, winding it. Further, the earthquake caused a loose stalactite to fall from the ceiling, coming down to impale the beast's back and pin it to the floor. When Red XIII glared at Harry, the wizard shrugged and laughed nervously. "Whoops..."

Barret came up to the now-helpless Behemoth and finished it off with a short, controlled burst of gunfire straight into its face. "Don't use Earth Magic underground, kid. That coulda been one of us."

"Sorry..." Harry admitted weakly. "But...you can't deny it worked."

"Not sayin' it didn't," Barret countered. "I'm jes' sayin'...I'd rather not have to pull a stalactite outta your ass."

With the scolding finished, the quartet resumed walking down through the cavern. They soon crossed over a winding, spiral bridge that looked more like some kind of ribcage. A short walk from there led them to a narrow, circular cavern with a ledge circling around the lack of floor in the center. Looking down, Harry noted that they were just above the source of green light - they had reached the bottom.

Barret looked over and saw Cloud, Tifa, and Cid looking none the worse for wear on the other side. He waved and called out, "Yo...we're a bit late?"

The entire party regrouped where the ledge doubled back a few times before joining what looked like a series of steps leading down into the light. Cloud stared down into the bright glow. "This is...the center of the Planet?"

"Seems like it," Harry agreed.

"Awright! This's the last dance!" Barret declared, prepping his gunarm.

"We finally made it here...no thanks to Harry's Tremor spell," Nanaki remarked, throwing one last glare at the wizard.

"Geez, make one mistake and they never let you live it down..."

"That rumbling was you, kid?" Cloud asked. At Harry's reluctant nod, the former mercenary frowned. "We thought it was another Dragon Zombie or something...but..."

Tifa cut in. "It did open the path for us." She smiled at Harry. "Thanks for that."

Harry turned to Barret and Nanaki. "See? Using Tremor wasn't such a bad idea after all! If I hadn't, they would still be stuck...whereever they were."

"That doesn't matter at this point," Cait Sith argued. "We're all here, we're all in one piece...and it's time to take the fight to Sephiroth!"

Cloud nodded. "All right, everyone. Let's mosey."

"Damn! Again!" Cid growled, lighting a fresh cigarette. "Stop sayin' it like a damn wimp, Chocobo-head! Can't you say 'Move out!' or somethin'?"

Cloud flushed, rubbing the back of his head. He vehemently gestures with his fist. "All right then. Move out!!"

A sudden roar echoed from above them. "What?" Barret gasped, looking up.

"Look at the number..." Red XIII breathed as monsters of many shapes and sizes gathered and approached them.

"SHIIIT! They're comin' out in force!" Cid cursed, his cigarette falling from his gaping mouth.

Harry whipped around to Cloud. "Cloud! You go first!"

The merc shook his head. "I'm fighting here, too!"

"Shu'up!" Barret argued over the roar of his gunarm as he tried sniping what monsters he could before they attacked en masse. "It won't do us no good wit' everyone back here!"

Cid nodded. "Barret's right. You take two of us with you and go first. The rest'll catch up with ya later."

Tifa assumed a fighter's stance. "This'll be like a practice run before the real thing."

"Yeah, a major practice run..." Cait Sith agreed, readying his first salvo of spells. The monsters roared collectively, shaking dust from the walls.

"They're coming! They're already on the floor next to us!" Nanaki cried.

"Hurry your spikey-head ass up, Cloud!" Barret bellowed.

Cloud nodded. "Red XIII! Tifa! On me!" The two joined him. He then addressed everyone else. "All of you!" He waved. "Later!"

A sudden silence as the first line stopped just scant yards in front of the group. "Yeah, later," Barret nodded, agreeing. Cloud, Tifa, and Nanaki leapt down into the crater, as Cid and Harry lead the counter attack, Barret's gunfire and Cait's spells covering them.

* * *

Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII leapt from floating platform to floating platform. Only once did they stop to fight a massive Iron Golem since it stood in their way. Cloud leapt in close, using his giant Buster Sword to keep its attention focused on him while Tifa and Nanaki wore it down quickly with concentrated spell power. Once it was gone, they leapt to the last platform, a large, crystalline slab of land seemingly made of cubes and triangles. Green mist howled along the edges.

"Where are we!?" Cloud shouted over the noise, only to be answered by an inhuman howl.

"What!?" Tifa gasped.

A serpentine woman from the waist up, a huge skull from the waist down, appeared from the mist to challenge them. "...J..Jenova!?" Red XIII cried in a half-growl, half-yell. The three heroes faced off against the latest, and hopefully last, incarnation of Jenova, before Cloud and Nanaki leapt forward with a battle cry.

* * *

Harry ducked under the claw of a zombified dragon and thrust Gryffindor's Sword, veritably glowing with all the unholy and undead demons surrounding them, deep into the creature's heart cavity. It shuddered and collapsed, blowing away like so much dust. Harry had to leap back to avoid being split in two by the sharp helmet of a humanoid monster that was, for some unknown but undoubtedly bizzare reason, called 'Cristopher.' Barret retaliated with a short, controlled burst of fire, splitting Harry's attacker open where Cait's Blizzaga froze it from the inside out, before it shattered.

Cid kicked off the impaled corpse of a Tonberry. "Effin' hell! There ain't no end to this!" he growled, batting aside a Bomb-like monster and causing it slam into another dragon zombie. The shock of the collision, combined with being skewered on the zombie's claws, caused it to explode, taking out the dragon with it.

"Keep fighting!" Harry shouted back, spinning past a lunge and decapitating the allemange challenging him. "We've got to keep it up!"

A mass of green tentacles shoved a gaping, red-rimmed mouth forward, as a Malboro made its presence known by rudely pushing aside a number of the wolf-like Gighees and more than a few Tonberries, sending them squealing and skittering into the abyss below. "Look out!" Cait Sith cried, throwing a powerful Flare spell into the Malboro's open mouth.

* * *

"Look out!" Cloud shouted a warning. Jenova launched a wall of green-tinted ice that rushed the three of them, shattering into sharp, jagged pieces that left them cut all over. Tifa quickly cast Curaga on the three of them, following by a Regen spell to help keep their strength up.

Nanaki growled and leapt forward, snagging the remaining of two tentacles and succeeded in ripping it away from Jenova, who shrieked in pain at the sudden strike. She began to glow a bright orange that quickly darkened to a near-black.

Tifa had just enough time to cast Wall, which coated the three with Protect and Shell, before Jenova-SYNTHESIS used its last strength to cast Ultima. The ensuing explosion of destruction magic engulfed them, the platform they stood upon, and...

* * *

Cait Sith tossed an Elixir to Harry, who quickly chugged it down. His wounds fully healed, he leapt back into the fray and saved Cid from the Tonberry about to plunge its butcher knife into the pilot's back. At that point, the monsters seemed to hesitate, before turning tail and fleeing.

"...That's right, you rat-faced bastards!" Cid growled, swinging his spear at them. "You better run!"

The group's feeling of victory soon died when a black explosion roared up from below and engulfed them and the ledge they stood on. Harry's last glimpse before blacking out was of Aeris' gentle smile surrounded by a green glow.

* * *

Phew! Almost done!

Harry: So, you reckon two or three more chapters?

Yup.

Sirius: Alright! The next chapter is the confrontation with Sephiroth at last!....Right?

Harry: I hope so.


	67. An End,,,and a Beginning

Time for the finale!

* * *

When Harry came to, he was treated to the amusing view of the reserved Red XIII sprawled in a most embarrassing position next to an unconscious Tifa Lockheart. Harry raised his head enough to look around, seeing Cloud (or at least his giant Buster Swrod) and what looked like Barret's gunarm on a floating rock up and to the left. To the right, Cait Sith's stuffed moogle and Cid's spear could be seen. And all around them was a soft, white glow, pulsating with energy as though it was a beating heart.

"Oww...damn, man..." Harry heard Barret grumble. He stood up slowly, keeping a firm grip on Gryffindor's sword.

"Barret?" Cloud asked.

"Hey," Harry called up, making the two look down toward him. "Everyone's here, together again." Harry's voice was enough to stir those still out cold to come to.

Only to have a ring of white fire shoot out from the center of a green sphere surrounded in a red, bone-like structure. Everyone, now shocked wide awake, were levitated, struggling into the air with pained groans.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud growled, as the ex-SOLDIER's face flashed in their vision for a second, only to appear in the center of the sphere.

They were pushed back - painfully, Harry added - by another ring of white fire emanating from the sphere. "UGh...Is this..the true power of Sephiroth?" Barret grunted.

"My...my body...I can't control...Uuugh?" Cid hissed.

Sephiroth drew them closer before kicking them back with more white fire. Nanaki's voice had the hint of a painful, tormented whimper in it. "My front legs...my hind legs...my tail's about to tear off!"

"This is definitely not good...He's way outta our league," Cait Sith moaned as they were turned and spun like tops.

Harry groaned, gritting his teeth. "Here...it's...here." His hand trembled as he reached to his Materia bracelet...and touched the pale green Materia that had fallen from Aeris' ribbon. Holy.

A softer, gentler light began emanating from the condensed Mako orb, and began to push back against Sephiroth's darker glow. "Holy?" Cloud asked. "It's shining...Aerith's prayer is shining."

"Right..." Harry replied. "It's not over yet."

"This isn't the end yet!" Tifa agreed. With their resolve bolstered, the energy trying to tear them limb from l imb snapped and broke...and everyone landed lightly on their feet on the rocks and platforms surrounding Sephiroth. "We're not gonna lose! Aeris is here...everyone...is here...Cloud is here with us! There's still many things for us to do. I'm not giving up!"

"Hoo-ok...!" Cid twirled his spear. "I can't be foolin' around in the bottom of this hell hole. I still have lots of stuff to do with my life!"

Cloud raised his sword to his regular standard battle stance. "Aeris' memories...Our memories...We came to tell you...our memories...Come, Planet! Show us your answer! And Sephiroth!...To the settling...of EVERYTHING!"

There was a silence for a moment, a silence so complete that even the rushing of the wind and energy was softened. Sephiroth's physical form in the sphere twisted and mutated, transforming into a massive grayish creature. The head itself was easily as large as Barret's entire body. Sephiroth's arms elongated and tripled in mass, thick as Harry's body. Sephiroth's lower body curled up into a pale-blue core of magical energy.

Nanaki's nose twitched. "The core. That core is our real target. It is the only part that has any kind of tangible scent."

Cloud nodded, understanding. "Red, Tifa, Harry. Destroy that core. Everyone else...cover them!"

Barret didn't need to be told twice before he aimed and opened fire, pumping a continuous stream of lead toward the right side of Sephiroth's head and right arm. Cait Sith prepped his spells before letting them fly, third-level elemtnal spells clashing against the left arm's mass as it pushed back to swipe the toy and Cid from the platform.

"Let's go, you two," Harry said softly, taking his focus off their comrades to focus on his own battle and dashing in and striking the core with Gryffindor's Sword. The enchanted blade ripped into the core, spraying Harry with bright blue ichor. He jumped back in time for Nanaki's Trine spell to slam into the wound Harry ripped into the core. Tifa stepped back into a support role, protecting the three of them with Wall in time to deflect the worst of a reactive blast of energy from the core.

Harry came up from his defensive crouch as the blast energy dissipated. "Heh. I've been _tickled_ harder than that." He shot a short nod toward Tifa before resuming his assault on the core, trading shots with Nanaki who leapt in toward the melee, leaving Tifa to keep them standing with her Restore materia.

Sephiroth wasn't still in all the commotion, though. Battle cries and spell incantations echoed in the background noise as Cloud, Barret, Cid, and Cait Sith laid into his arms and face in an effort to keep his focus off the three attacking his weak point. Sephiroth's formidable mental powers lashed out, striking the four of them with tendrils of dark purple energy that sliced open cuts and gashes where it connected. Even Cait Sith's body, normally unblemished by injury even as it was torn through by monsters, suffered visible damage from this assault.

Harry stepped back and glowed with red energy. "Ice him down, Shiva!" A cold wind blew through the battlefield, and a massive icicle dropped down between Harry's team and Sephiroth's core. The Mistress of Ice formed and burst from the ice before winking at Harry and sending dagger-like shards of ice into nearly every inch of Sephirtoh in view and fading from the battle.

A roar of pain could be heard as Sephiroth eyed them all beadily from what was supposed to be his face. A whisper, nothing more of 'Heartless Angel' preceeded a blast of energy that slammed into Harry with all the force of a mountain trolls club, picking him up and throwing him back over the edge of the platform. "Harry!" He heard Tifa and Red XIII cry out before he disappeared from view.

Harry fell, barely conscious. He grimaced, not having a Restore materia handy even as he felt that particular sensation he'd come to recognize as his Limit Break arriving swirl around his hands._Ow...where's...that Elixir...Cloud handed me...earlier...There..._ He broke the clasp of the bottle before bringing it up to his mouth and drinking down the healing fluid. The magic went to work immediately, bringing Harry to full alertness and restoring his strnegth. Harry's eyes snapped open just in time for him to plunge into the Lifestream.

"You're not done yet, Harry," Aeris's voice giggled at him.

Harry grimaced. "I know. He got a cheap shot and knocked me off. I don't suppose you know a way for me to get back up there?"

"Happy thoughts can do a lot to raise your spirits, Harry," Aeris hinted.

"Right..." Harry rolled his eyes snarkily. _Wait...Is she talking about...?_ "My Patronis?"

"Oh, is that what you call it, Harry?"

Harry blinked, the surface of the Lifestream just above him. _Cloud mentioned that a bloke's ultimate Limit Break was supposed to be learned differently from the rest...but I already have it? There I go again, breaking tradition,_ he thought with a grin. "Expecto...Patronum!"

The familiar silver-white stag sprang into being next to him. Prongs snickered once at him as the Lifestream swirled around them both. The normal silver-white glow brightened from the energy of the Planet's lifeblood, becoming almost platinum silver, before Prongs took hold of Harry's collar and helped him swing around to mount onto his back. Once Harry was safely in place, Prongs galloped forward and upward. They burst through the surface of the Lifestream, soaring up through the air.

Aeris' voice whispered into Harry's ear, fading with each word. "Don't forget, Harry...Throw Holy into the Lifestream."

"I won't, Aeris...I promise."

The battle still raged above him. Harry could see that everyone was tired, but then, the grotesque creature Sephiroth had become was hurting, too. For one, Prongs had to swerve around the arms as they fell, cracked and scorched and dissolving into particles of dark, purple smoke.

"Harry!" Tifa gasped as he shot up past them.

"Hey guys. Miss me?" Harry quipped, leaping off his Patronus as the etheral creature galloped past Cloud and Barret's platform before huffing self-importantly. Harry snorted. "Right. Thanks for the save, Prongs."

"You named your Limit Break 'Prongs,' kid?" Cloud asked dubiously.

"Long story, Spike."

Prongs huffed, amused, before turning and charging toward Sephiroth's core, piercing the abused, depleted bright blue gem-like stone with his antlers. With a wailing cry, Sephiroth exploded with a burst of white light...

...When next Harry could see, Cloud, Barret, and himself stood alone on a rocky outcropping floating in a purple, wavering sky with streams of white, swirling energy. "Where...are we...and where...is everyone..else?" Cloud breathed, his shoulders slumping slightly.

He didn't get his answer as Sephiroth, now looking far more like his previous human form, descended from above, with a single, white-feathered wing flapping almost lazily to keep him aloft before them. "Guess our job isn't done quite yet," Harry grunted.

"What teh hell...does i' take...to kill this goddamned basturd?" Barret panted angrily.

Sephiroth smiled coldy, devoid of emotion, down at them and reared back and swung his wing and arm forward, sending a shockwave down to crash into them. Cloud and Harry knelt down, their swords held in a guard position, avoiding being knocked back. Barret, too, crouched, taking cover behind his gunarm, and was only pushed back a foot before returning fire.

Harry leapt forward, swinging his sword only for sephiroth's Masamune to materialize and parry it. Cloud took advantage of this to jump forward and strike Sephiroth's unprotected side while Harry was pushed back, leaving a gash in the would-be demigod's side. Sephiroth's dead, empty expression never changed as he flicked a hand at Cloud with an air of casual arrogance, a blast of yellow-orange energy slamming into the blonde mercenary, knocking him back to hit the ground painfully. A twist of his sword wrist, and Harry hit the ground next to him.

"I've got ya covered!" Barret growled, stepping forward and pressing his attack. He stopped firing long enough to shift gunmodes and started firing larger, heavier rounds at the One-Winged Angel. The bullets dug into his torso and arms...the few that slipped past Masamune, anyway.

Cloud grimaced and climbed back to his feet, chugging a Hi-Potion down. He glowed green for a moment before a comet materialized above their heads and slammed into Sephiroth. As he reeled from that particular blow, Harry rushed in, swinging Gryffindor's Sword with a forceful two-handed uppercut, leaving a two-inch-deep gash from the Angel's hip across his breast to his shoulder that bled heavily. Harry jumped back to allow Cloud to strike with a follow-up chop, his strength combined with the sheer weight of the Buster Sword allowing him to break the arm holding the Masamune and rendering it near-useless.

"We've got ya now, you sunuva...!" Barret grunted, switching gunmodes once more before a soft whine was heard. Barret took aim and launched a bolt of blue energy that crackled with power into Sephiroth's face. Sephiroth's head jerked around, and when he faced them again, Barret smirked triumphantly at the scorched, half-melted flesh that was now the right side of the One-Winged Angel's face.

Sephiroth lost his cool emotionless expression and snarled. Harry could feel the power gathering, but his shouted warning was too late. Before they could raise any sort of defense, the entire area was engulfed in a maelstrom of flames and energy.

And pain.

Harry opened his eyes, painfully climbing to his feet. There wasn't much left of the rock they were on. Cloud was supporting his weight on his Buster Sword. Barret had raised himself up to hands and knees, and working his way to his feet. Sephiroth appeared to have not suffered from his own attack. _Figures,_ Harry thought.

"Let's...finish this," Harry whispered.

"With pleasure," Cloud agreed. He wearily hefted his Buster Sword, lifting it up and ready to strike. Harry beat him to the proverbial punch, forcing his protesting legs to propel him toward the One-Winged Angel and driving his sword through Sephiroth's body, weakening him further. He stepped back, breathing heavily, as Cloud glowed orange. "Finishing...Touch!" Cloud dashed forward and swung around, wisps of energy swirling around his blade as he twirled, Buster Sword out and slashing Sephiroth repeatedly before turning into a single forward flip, bringing his heavy greatsword down on the Angel's head, bringing them both crashing to the ground.

All sound died. Sephiroth's face held an expression of honest surprise...before he began to emit beams of light from his injuries and dissolved into bits and wisps of purple smoke and dust until he was no more.

Harry blinked. "It's over."

Harry, Cloud, Barret, Nanaki, Tifa, Cait Sith, and Cid stood around (in some cases, rested against the cavern wall) at the ledge where they'd rendevous before engaging Sephiroth. "This...was all we could do," Cloud agreed.

Barret looked up. "Wait! What about Holy! What's gonna happen to the Planet!"

"That, I don't know," Cloud shook his head. "Isn't the rest up to the Planet?"

Tifa nodded tiredly. "You're right. We've done all that we could do."

Cloud glanced around them all. "All right, everyone...It's no use thinking about it. We'll leave...all...our worries here." He raised a fist, Buster Sword once more attached to the magnet on his back. "Let's go home proud."

"Sounds good," Cid nodded. They turned to leave, but...Harry turned, alongside Tifa, to look back at Cloud.

"...I feel it..." Cloud whispered.

"What?" Tifa asked.

"He is still...here." Cloud fell to teh ground, clutching his head. "Still..."

"Cloud!" Harry and Tifa doubled back, wrapping his arms around their shoulders to pull him along.

"He's...laughing."

"Cloud!"

* * *

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Tonks, and Remus watched as the spikey-headed mercenary named Cloud rocketed head first through a swirling wormhole. The very air moved out of his way as he was shot faster and afster, the walls of the tunnel seemingly intangible; made up of air or steam or thoughts. Flashes, glimpses, really, of past memories could be seen before Cloud was ejected into a vast black space, bright blue tendrils floating around him gently. Cloud opened his eyes, which narrowed with bright blue fury as they landed on Sephiroth.

"Just kill the bugger already," Ron grumbled as Cloud and Sephiroth faced off, standing still and glaring at each other, swords ready. Ginny and Hermione cuffed his head for his trouble. But it seemed to be the cataclyst, as Cloud suddenly charged forward, his sword glowing with energy and flashing as he swung, twice, five, a dozen, twenty strikes, fire burning behind every blow and leaving Sephiroth staggering, the Masamune clattering to the ground useless at his feet. Cloud leapt up into the air and an audible whine could be heard as energy gathered around the tip of the Buster Sword before it was slammed down, the full weight of the blade cleaving the white-haired man in two.

The remains of Sephiroth's body, somehow still standing in Cloud's subconscious, stumbled back, clutching his chest with an expression of shock and horror on his face. He rose, flailing, into the air, before exploding with a small, rather anticlimactic, shower of glowing red embers.

Cloud watched his rival vanish, panting from the exhertion his Omnislash attack required, a slight smile of victory on his face. His Buster Sword faded as he turned, looking up as green tendrils and droplets of lively energy snake upward around him up into the air where a hand, clothed in a pink sleeve, extended down to him. Cloud reaches forward...

* * *

Harry heaved Cloud forward, up into Tifa's arms to the safety of the ledge above. Everyone else watched from yet a higher ledge, having not realized immediately the three lagging behind. With Cloud safely pulled up, Harry barely had enough room for a single running step before jumping, leaping up to the ledge as the rock he stood upon crumbled into the Lifestream below. Harry's fingers gripped the ledge, and he swung just enough to grab the edge with both hands before hauling himself up.

"...I think I'm beginning to understand," Cloud whispered once they they had reached the safety of the stable platform.

"What!" Tifa gasped, clutching Cloud close.

"An answer from the Planet, the Promised Land," Cloud replied. "I think we can meet her...there."

Tifa nodded, closing her eyes a moment. "Yeah, let's go meet her."

"Where is everyone?"

"Up there," Harry pointed across the cavern.

"Heeey!" Caith Sith, Barret, Nanaki, and Cid waved to them.

"Holy should be moving soon," Red XIII yelled to them. "That means this place will..."

"Lady Luck, don't fail me now..." Cid breathed, almost in prayer...only to gape, his cigarette falling from his mouth. The group followed his gaze upward to where the Highwind came crashing down, nosefirst into the crater an dislodging rocks and debris before coming to a stop, wedged into place.

"Everyone, get aboard, now!" Cloud ordered. Everyone climbed aboard...except Harry.

"What's up, kid?" Cid called down. "Hurry the hell up!"

Harry was trying to pull a pale-green Materia from his gauntlet. "It's stuck..." He frowned. He tried to take the gauntlet off...but the damage it had taken to protect him had fused the buckles together, and it would take careful, meticulous application of metal cutters to get it off.

"What the hell you doin' ya friggen idiot!" Cid bellowed.

"Harry!" Tifa yelled.

Harry looked up. "I have to give Holy to Aeris..."

"Teh hell ya talkin' about?" Barret grumbled.

"Heh," Harry laughed softly. "I swear...My luck just loves to screw me over." He shook his head. "You guys, get out of here while you can. I've got to help Aeris use Holy and save the Planet."

Nanaki shook his head. "Harry..."

"GO!"

Cloud locked gazes with Harry for a moment, before nodding. "All right...Harry. You take care of yourself, you hear?"

"CLOUD!"

Harry waved them off. "Of course. How many times have I told you...us hero-types always find a way to survive." _You might not see me again...and I probably won't see you, either, but..._ "Hey, Cloud...do me a favor, all right?"

"Sure, Harry. Name it."

Harry smirked, at this one last chance to finally get one over on Cloud, and embarrass Tifa again. "Make lots of sprogs with Tifa for Barret and Cid to spoil, got it?"

Tifa burned a bright red, while Cloud just blinked and made a good impression of a goldfish, caushing Cid and Barret to laugh uproariously while Nanaki chuckled a deep bass. Cait Sith had already gone into the ship, and thus missed the joke.

Harry waved. "Have fun." With that, he leapt from his ledge and plunged back into the Lifestream before they could recover and respond.

* * *

The camera panned out over Midgar as Meteor finally pushed through the atmosphere and screamed straight down, toward the old Shinra tower, only to be caught be the streams of while energy cast by Holy, criss-crossing each other and forming a net and stopping Meteor a sheer half-mile from the top of the remainder of Shinra H.Q. The two forces struggle, Holy's energy turning pink and then burning to a red as Meteor's magic begins to push through and lance down toward Midgar.

"What's happening...Holy is not working!" Tifa gasped aboard the bridge-slash-jet of the Highwind.

"Holy is having the opposite effect...because it is too late...it is failing and being absorbed by Meteor," Red XIII intoned softly.

"What...can we do?" Cloud asked.

"...What the hell is that?" Barret growled before any answer could be given.

Cloud looked. In the distance, from several different directions, pale-green strands of Lifestream rose into the air and twirled toward Meteor and Holy, interweaving with the strands of energy creating by Holy. "Lifestream." Cloud whispered.

The weave of energy bowed, Meteor renewing its effort to brush the Planet...but the net held, and slowl, so slowly, pushed Meteor back. Until, at least, the net pushed Meteor up from the city and encased the giant rock and began to compress it, lances of energy striking off chunks of rock and magic. And in minutes, it was over - Meteor was dispelled.

The Planet...was saved.

* * *

Harry dove headfirst into the Lifestream, disappearing beneath the waves just seconds before the Lifestream surged up, pushing the Highwind and its occupants up and out of the crater. The Materia orb that was Holy shined as Harry's hand found another hand to grasp.

"I don't believe I requested you join me, Harry," Aeris giggled.

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, well...Holy's stuck in my gauntlet and I couldn't pull it out fast enough."

Aeris shook her head, laughing. "I'm sure."

"It's the truth!"

"All the same...It's nice to have someone other than Zack to talk to, even if you won't be staying long."

"Who?"

"Me." A dark-haired, energetic youth with glowing, Mako-enfused eyes walked up behind Aeris in the same SOLDIER first class uniform Cloud wore. In fact...he looked remarkably like Cloud. A few different alterations, color the hair to blonde, and make the eyes blue, and he could have passed as Cloud's twin.

"I saw you in Cloud's memory...the first time I fell in the Lifestream," Harry gasped.

Zack shrugged. "What can I say...I'm a memorable character."

Aeris giggled and shook her head before standing next to Zack, entwining her hand with his, Holy shining in her hand and leaving Harry with no clue as to how she got it out. "So, Harry...I take it this means you're ready?"

"For what?"

"Well...this isn't your home, is it?" Aeris asked softly. Harry shook his head. "And you have more adventures waiting for you, you know. So...get to it!"

Harry snorted. "I've had enough adventure to last a lifetime...before I started this one."

"So have fun," Zack smirked. "No, really. Havev fun. Make people laugh. Make yourself laugh. Find a girl or two to make out wi-OOF!" And there went Aeris' elbow into his gut.

"What Zack means, Harry, is that adventures don't have to be a source of stress." Aeris reached out, running her fingers through Harry's mop of raven-black hair, darker than even Zack's, as one would to comfort a scared child. Harry felt a moment of indignation - he wasn't a child anymore, after all - but something about Aeris' hand made it seem less an indignation and more like a supportive gesture. "Instead...enjoy yourself. And don't worry. Okay?"

Harry smiled. "...Yeah. That sounds good."

"Good, kid." Zack grinned. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, ya hear?"

Aeris giggled. "That doesn't restrict much."

"Hey!"

Harry laughed as their playful bantering forms faded, as the background pale green of the Lifestream faded to black. And he knew no more.

* * *

Something warm and wet licked at his ear. "Gerroff..." Harry said sleepily, swatting at whatever was disturbing him. He _had_ been having a nice dream, too, about saving the world of a video game.

The warm wet thing backed off with a playful growl, and then..."GRROOWWWFF!"

The dog's bark caused Harry to snap open his eyes and roll to his feet, sword in hand and pointing at...

"Angelo!"

* * *

Whew...what a rough year it took to get this out. But I'm glad it's done at last.

Harry: So when do you plan on starting the next?

Sirius: Hopefully soon and not after another year.

It's always easier to start a fic. It's actually working through and finishing it that's the hard part.


End file.
